Basque cheesecake, also known as cheesecake San Sebastian or burnt Basque cheesecake (Spanish: ''tarta de queso vasca''), is a crustless
cheesecake
Cheesecake is a dessert made with a soft fresh cheese (typically cottage cheese, cream cheese, quark or ricotta), eggs, and sugar. It may have a crust or base made from crushed cookies (or digestive biscuits), graham crackers, pastry, ...
originating from the
Basque Country, Spain. It is characterized by its caramelized, nearly burnt exterior and creamy, custard-like interior, achieved by baking at high temperatures.
History
Basque cheesecake was created in 1988 by Santiago Rivera at his
pintxo bar La Viña in
San Sebastián
San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...
, a coastal city in the
Basque Country, Spain.
It achieved popularity online in the 2010s, helped by a recipe published by the British food writer
Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lucy Lawson (born 6 January 1960) is an English food writer and television cook.
After graduating from Oxford, Lawson worked as a book reviewer and restaurant critic, later becoming the deputy literary editor of ''The Sunday Times'' in ...
.
In 2021, Basque cheesecake was widely shared on
Instagram
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
and became "ubiquitous" in the UK.
That year, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' listed it as a "flavor of the year".
Preparation
Basque cheesecake has a caramelized, nearly burnt exterior and creamy, custard-like interior, achieved by baking at high temperatures.
The flavor is subtly sweet with notes of caramel and hints of bitterness from the browned top.
Chefs have added ingredients such as vanilla, citrus zest, or liquorice sauce.
See also
*
Cheesecake
Cheesecake is a dessert made with a soft fresh cheese (typically cottage cheese, cream cheese, quark or ricotta), eggs, and sugar. It may have a crust or base made from crushed cookies (or digestive biscuits), graham crackers, pastry, ...
*
San Sebastián
San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...
*
Basque cuisine
Basque cuisine refers to the cuisine of the Basque Country and includes meats and fish grilled over hot coals, '' marmitako'' and lamb stews, cod, Tolosa bean dishes, paprikas from Lekeitio, '' pintxos'' (Basque '' tapas)'', Idiazabal shee ...
*
Desserts
Dessert is a course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly savory to create des ...
References
External links
La Viña Official Website
{{Cakes
Custard desserts
Cheesecakes
Basque cuisine