THE BEST BASQUE CHEESECAKE | MI TARTA DE QUESO VASCA
Recently, my wife’s friend Sari, brought home for her birthday the best Basque baked cheesecake I have ever tried. It was so good it inspired me, I thought I needed to make one as good or better and discovered on social media that there is a real competition on making the best cheesecake in Spain. All top chefs and home cooks are baking them at the moment, posting about them, which I invite you to take a look at it, there is some stunning creaminess on them. This recipe is very simple but the result is stunning, just keep an eye on the length of time in the oven and take it out when you think it’s under cooked, otherwise your instinct will tell you to leave in the oven a bit longer. I would like to add that if you change a quarter of the total weight of the Manchego cheese by blue cheese or a smoked cheese it makes it very distinctive and special.
INGREDIENTS for the base
135g digestive Biscuit
80g Butter
INGREDIENTS cheesecake
500g Philadelphia cheese
200g caster Sugar
500ml whipping Cream
150g 12 month old aged Manchego Cheese
5 Eggs (300g)
2 tsp Vanilla essence
1 tbsp plain Flour
Preparation
For the base: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat until slightly toasted and pour over the crumbled digestive biscuits. Mix with a spoon until combined.
Place the 26cm springform mould over a baking tray and lined with a wet and scrunched baking paper. Fill the base with the biscuit mix, applying some pressure with a spoon (specially in the corners) and making sure if flat throughout. Place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes while preparing the cheesecake mixture.
For the cheesecake: Finely grate the Manchego cheese and place all the ingredients in a jug blender. Blitz for a bout 2 minutes or until smooth. You can mix it with a whisk as well or use a hand blender.
Pour the cheesecake mixture into the mould carefully and bake in a preheated oven at 190 degrees for 45 minutes. The centre of the cake should feel runny and undercooked. Carefully remove from the oven and let it rest at room temperature for 3 hours and it’s best enjoyed at room temperature without keeping it in the fridge so you can appreciate the creamy heart of the cake and flavours.