How To Fix Burnt Cheesecake Top

Basque Burnt Cheesecake

January 24, 2019

Burnt Basque Cheesecake recipe from Molly Baz at Bon Apptit

Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kate Buckens

This cheesecake is the alter ego to the classic New York–style cheesecake with a press-in cookie crust. Inspired by a Basque version, this is the cheesecake that wants to get burnt, cracked, and cooked at high heat. Which also means this is the cheesecake that's impossible to mess up.

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Ingredients

Makes one 10" cake

Unsalted butter (for pan)

lb. cream cheese, room temperature

1½

cups sugar

large eggs

cups heavy cream

tsp. kosher salt

tsp. vanilla extract

⅓

cup all-purpose flour

Sherry (for serving; optional)

Special Equipment

Preparation

Step 1

Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 400°. Butter pan, then line with 2 overlapping 16x12" sheets of parchment, making sure parchment comes at least 2" above top of pan on all sides. Because the parchment needs to be pleated and creased in some areas to fit in pan, you won't end up with a clean, smooth outer edge to the cake; that's okay! Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet.

Step 2

Beat cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed, scraping down sides of bowl, until very smooth, no lumps remain, and sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.

Step 3

Increase speed to medium and add eggs one at a time, beating each egg 15 seconds before adding the next. Scrape down sides of bowl, then reduce mixer speed to medium-low. Add cream, salt, and vanilla and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.

Step 4

Turn off mixer and sift flour evenly over cream cheese mixture using a fine-mesh sieve. Beat on low speed until incorporated, about 15 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl (yet again) and continue to beat until batter is very smooth, homogenous, and silky, about 10 seconds.

Step 5

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cheesecake until deeply golden brown on top and still very jiggly in the center, 60–65 minutes.

Step 6

Let cool slightly (it will fall drastically as it cools), then unmold. Let cool completely. Carefully peel away parchment from sides of cheesecake. Slice into wedges and serve at room temperature, preferably with a glass of sherry alongside.

Do Ahead: Cheesecake be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Be sure to let cheesecake sit for several hours at room temperature to remove chill before serving.

Step 7

Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kate Buckens

How would you rate Basque Burnt Cheesecake?

Reviews (161)

Made this twice. Absolutely the best cheesecake I've ever eaten. This time I used turbinado sugar instead of white and added a splash of bourbon. Can't wait!
Love love love this recipe and so does everyone I've made it for. My question is can this recipe be frozen, if so is it just as good afterwards.
I made this for a potluck at work and it was the best cheesecake ever! The Caramelized top was decadent! I baked it at 30% steam in my steam oven on convection heat at 400 degrees F. It was so light and creamy. The dark brown top and the creamy interior made such a beautiful presentation! This recipe will forever be my go-to Cheesecake recipe, so simple and easy to make.
Alright, so I changed this up a lot, in order to treat myself for my birthday. I veganized it, using miyokos cream cheese and just egg, with coconut milk for the dairy substitute. You might be thinking, WTF, she's INSANE, but all I have to say is….this was INSANELY good. Like everyone else, I checked in at 50 minutes, and it was juuussst beginning to brown. The center looked okay, though. So I turned on the broiler on low for another 10 minutes or so, and it was beautiful. The coconut flavor was not too pronounced, and even when you did catch a hint, it was a lovely combo with the cake. I served it with fresh berries and peaches on the side, and yes, I ate it for breakfast on my birthday.
Cake turned out great! With my oven it took 2 hrs to obtain that burnt look!
This recipe is so easy and good! You can replace the AP Flour with Tapioca Flour to make it gluten free (I've made it both ways and there is no difference in taste/look etc). I butter the parchment paper, before I place the parchment in the pan - no problems removing the cake. Definitely make sure your cream cheese, eggs, cream are room temp. The cheesecake is fantastic as written, we really like how it's not too sweet, and not dense/heavy. If desired, you can add the zest of a lemon. We like to keep it simple and like it as is. This cheesecake lends itself to toppings. It's a beautiful canvas for a quick blueberry sauce with fresh berries, or fresh strawberries w/balsamic and freshly ground pepper. Just lovely. So many variations you can try.
So easy and delicious! Rave reviews and the star of my dinner party!
Tried it and it was a success. Everyone wanted second serving. Thanks for the recipe.
This is a very easy process, but my cheesecake was OVERBAKED. My cheesecake was did not caramelize after 65 minutes, so I continued to bake until I did got that caramelization on top (this is before I read that I should have turned on the broiler to help with the caramelization). Total bake time was 90 mins. at 400F, still very jiggly. Cooled as specified, then transferred to the refrigerator since this will be served during the evening. Allowed cheesecake to sit at room temperature for several hours before. Cheesecake was dense, a bit grainy, not creamy, flavor is good and mildly sweet. Will retry again.
This was a really easy recipe that produced a great cheesecake. I used a Fat Diddio 9x4" round cake pan instead of a springform pan, and was able to pull the cake out using the parchment paper quite easily. So if you don't have a springform pan, no worries!
Is it possible to use a rectangular or square tin? I'm making this for a tea party and want to cut it into small squares
My cheesecake stuck to the parchment paper :( any suggestions to avoid that? Otherwise it tasted amazing and I loved the texture of the cake!
I have made this a dozen times in the past year and it's a knock out every time. Make this YESTERDAY. Its impossible to mess up end so impressive!
Where is the video?
The best cheesecake I ever made. The rustic look is impressive, and although it takes some time, it is worth it. Everyone I shared it with was blown away. Highly recommend.