Burnt Basque Cheesecake with Mulberry sauce Recipe

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(23 ratings)

Once we tried our first slice of burnt Basque cheesecake from San Sebastian, we knew it was love! We’ve paired ours with some seasonal berries for good measure.

A burnt Basque cheesecake with a bowl of mulberry sauce and two cups of coffee beside it.
(Image credit: Future)
Serves12
SkillEasy
Preparation Time20 mins (plus chilling)
Cooking Time50 mins
Total Time1 hours 10 mins (plus chilling)
Nutrition Per PortionRDA
Calories400 Kcal20%
Saturated Fat18 g90%
Fat28 g40%
Carbohydrates28 g11%

Err on the side of ‘underbaked’ with this Burnt Basque Cheesecake–it may look too wobbly, but trust us, its done! 

To give this cheesecake a festive spin and add it to our roster of favourite Christmas dessert ideas, we've added a mullberry sauce. But, if you can’t find fresh mulberries, or they’re out of season, you can substitute for blackberries and the cheesecake will still taste great. 

You will need a 20cm springform cake tin for this Christmas cheesecake recipe, which should be greased and lined before you begin.

How to make a Burnt Basque Cheesecake with Mulberry sauce:

Ingredients

For the cheesecake:

  • 650g cream cheese, room temperature
  • 200g granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 330g double cream, room temperature
  • Pinch sea salt
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
  • 30g plain flour, sieved

For the sauce:

  • 350g fresh mulberries, stalks removed 
  • 35g granulated sugar
  • Zest and juice of 1/2 orange 
  • 1tbsp honey
  • 25ml dry sherry (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200C/Gas 6. 
  2. Start by lining the tin with a large square of parchment; pressing in the base, edges and sides, repeat by overlapping a second piece, ensuring it’s 5-6cm higher than the tin when lined. The edges will be creased and quite rough, this is what gives the cheesecake its charm.
  3. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together in a stand mixer for around 5 mins until the sugar granules have dissolved. 
  4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour in the cream, followed by the salt, vanilla and flour. Make sure there are no lumps of flour in the mix and pour into the tin. 
  5. Bake in the centre of the oven for 45-50 mins, until the edges are a little firm but the middle still has a lot of wobble. The top of the cheesecake will rise and burn and possibly crack, but you mustn't panic - you want that. Overbaking will ruin the texture completely.
  6. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for one hour - the cake will sink during this time, again that’s good. Place in the fridge to chill completely before serving. 
  7. While the cake is chilling, you can make the sauce. Add all of the ingredients apart from the sherry to a saucepan and cook over a medium heat until the sweet mulberries burst and the liquid extracted has reduced by ⅔. Add in the sherry (if using), mix well and leave to cool.

A slice of Burnt Basque Cheesecake with Mulberry sauce on a plate

(Image credit: Future)

Recipe and food styling by Keiron George

Rose Fooks

Rose Fooks is the Deputy Food Editor at woman&home. Rose completed a degree in Art at Goldsmiths University before beginning her career in the restaurant industry as a commis chef at The Delaunay in 2015. She then worked at Zedel and went on to become part of the team that opened Islington’s popular Bellanger restaurant. 

To hone her patissier skills, Rose joined the Diplome de Patisserie and Culinary Management course at Le Cordon Bleu. She ran a food market in Islington and cooked for a catering company that used only surplus food to supply events, before finding her way into publishing and food styling.