Burnt Basque Cheesecake Recipe, San Sebastián- La Viña
Recipe

Burnt Basque Cheesecake Recipe, San Sebastián – La Viña

19th December 2018 /

Last summer I found my all-time favourite European beach-city – Donostia-San Sebastián. Blessed with a breathtaking stretch of uninterrupted coastline, featuring white sands and surfer-friendly waves of Playa de la Concha. A 2-hour hike up and over several luscious green hills eastward gives you a panoramic view of the sun-kissed coastline, after which you will arrive at the charming fishing village of Pasaia. The natural beauty of San Sebastian is worth a visit in its own right but even this cannot compare with the real treasure this place holds – FOOD.

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San Sebastián has the most Michelin stars per capita than anywhere else in the world. However, the city is better known for its bar hopping activity: PINTXOS, all day err day. The concept resembles a street food market, except that the food stalls are actually decent restaurant bars and the street food comes in the form mini gourmet bar snacks… I guess it is not equivalent to a street food market after all!

SforB

Anyway, I was strongly encouraged to try the cheesecake from one of the older pintxos bar in the heart of San Sebastián town, La Viña, on the basis that this cheesecake would change my life. To be completely honest, I was skeptical. The bar definitely gave a very exciting first impression, with tins and tins of freshly baked cheesecake all over the open kitchen counter bars and the aroma of freshly-baked cheesecake thick in the air. The thing that caught my attention immediately was that the cheesecakes all looked kinda burnt, with burnt parchment paper linings standing at least 4 inches above the tin. We came in with high expectations, and this was enough to leave me and my boyfriend sufficiently mindblown!

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The famous burnt basque cheesecake has that “don’t-eat-burnt-parts-as-they-give-you-cancer” taste from its overbaked caramelized exterior, coupled with the soft creamy texture. It was the best cheesecake I have ever had! We went back to La Viña 3 times in the span of 3 days. However, the bar was closed (Mondays) during our final visit before we were due to leave San Sebastián. I then made a promise (to my glutton boyfriend) that I would try my best to decipher this age-old recipe and replicate this amazing cheesecake.

SforB
I clearly need to fix my cake-cutting skills

Essential!

When baking the cheesecake, it is very important that the top of the cheesecake has a dark brown burnt colour. Not light brown, not black, but dark brown. The freshly baked cheesecake would have risen to the top of the pan, jiggling away as you shake the tin. I highly recommend that the cheesecake be cooled completely, for at least 2-3 hours. Otherwise, the taste of the cheese will be lost due to the overpowering heat, leaving only the burnt, slightly bitter caramelized flavour.

Cheesecakes are very delicate cakes, kinda like a souffle. You want them to rise at a good pace and not too rapidly, otherwise there will be cracks on the sides. Do precaution steps to avoid too much incorporation of air bubbles into the batter (see recipe notes below).

SforB
Fresh out of the oven, expanded and jiggly!
SforB
Leave in pan to cool completely, allowing the cheesecake to sink in

 

Let me know how it goes!
Happy baking 🙂

 

Burnt Basque Cheesecake Recipe, San Sebastián- La Viña
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5 from 12 votes

Burnt Basque Cheesecake, La Viña, San Sebastián

My best replication of La Viña, San Sebastián cheesecake thus far. Creamy and soft cheesecake, covered with almost-burnt caramelized coating. Step aside food cake, the new Devil is in town.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Basque, Spanish
Keyword Burnt, Cheesecake
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Resting Time 2 hours
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 12 people
Calories 516kcal
Author SforB

Ingredients

Room Temperature Ingredients:

  • 1 kg Philadelphia cream cheese , soften
  • 320 g Sugar
  • 480 ml Heavy cream
  • 5 Large eggs
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 30 g All-purpose flour

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius fan-assisted. Grease and line a 9-inch springform pan, allowing the parchment papers to cover at least 3 inches above the pan.
    Burnt Basque Cheesecake Recipe, San Sebastián- La Viña
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat the room temperature cream cheese with a electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add the sugar and salt and beat until the texture of the batter is smooth.
  • Add the eggs into the mixture one-by-one and whisk until just incorporated before adding the next egg. Next, add the heavy cream and continue whisking.
  • Sift the flour into the mixing bowl and fold it in with a spatula.
  • Pour the batter into the pan and bake for around 52-55 minutes in the preheated oven, no longer than 55 minutes – it's ok that the cake is wobbly (read blogpost). Do keep an eye from the 50th-minute onward, making sure that the top of the cheesecake is browned enough. (I like to switch on my oven grill+fan mode on after the 50th minute)
  • Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely, around 2hours. **

Notes

We don’t expect cheesecakes to incorporate too much air bubbles. Especially with the higher temperature, the cheesecake will bake & expand too rapidly, which may cause splits / cracks on the side of the cake.
To reduce air bubble intakes, it is always good to avoid over-beating and only mixing to combine the ingredients (unless told otherwise). Besides that, while pouring the batter into the baking pan, run a spatula or butter knife to cut through the batter. Finally, lift the pan about a foot from the counter and drop the pan onto the counter three / four times.
** As mentioned in the blogpost, I recommend that the cheesecake be cooled completely, for at least 2-3 hours. Otherwise, the taste of the cheese will be lost due to the overpowering heat, leaving only a burnt, custard flavour.
Volume to metrics Conversions can be found here.

 

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38 Comments

  • Anonymous

    1st November 2020 at 13:54 Reply

    Fantastic! Have eaten San Sebastián cheesecake all over but never thought to make it. Recipe was spot on, and stress free to make. Made it ahead of time and kept it in the fridge a couple of days. Was gorgeous – a real winner! Thanks for the inspiration

  • Katrina Manalac

    5th September 2020 at 06:22 Reply

    I LOOOOVE THIS RECIPE!! I know it says to serve room temperature but can I keep this in the fridge to prevent from spoiling? And what’s the shelf life

    • SforB

      21st September 2020 at 17:03 Reply

      I’m glad you love it! I always keep mine in the fridge as I prefer it cold actually 😛 You can keep it in the fridge for around 1 week, but try to keep it in an airtight container. If you want to leave it at room temperature, I’d leave it max for 2 days only.

  • Preetee

    28th August 2020 at 01:03 Reply

    Hi Just wondering if this cake can be made in a 8” inch pan?
    What temperature would you do it on if can use the 8 inch pan. Thanks

    • SforB

      1st September 2020 at 09:17 Reply

      yes you can! Just don’t overfill your pan cause the cake does rise quite a bit. I’d keep the temperature and reduce the baking time to around >45 minutes, but keeping an eye for that browning of the cake.

  • Amal

    4th June 2020 at 20:32 Reply

    I tried this recipe and it was the best cheesecake I’ve ever had! Absolutely loved it!!! So rich and creamy, it has a class of its own. Tastes perfect even without any berries or anything else.

    Thanks for the recipe!

  • Tammy

    18th May 2020 at 01:48 Reply

    A couple of questions:
    1. Regardless of how much I’ve tried tweaking the recipe (less flour, more eggs, less time in the oven), the center always comes out more solid than I’d like. I’m looking to achieve a semi-molten center. Any recommendations?
    2. Why is there a syrupy liquid that forms at the bottom, between the side and the baking paper. It’s quite a lot, so I usually tilt the cheesecake (with the plate underneath it) to move all the syrup to one side, and then let it get absorbed into a napkin.

    • SforB

      23rd May 2020 at 10:49 Reply

      Hi Tammy 🙂
      1. If you’re looking for a more molten center, I’d actually try adding a little more cream, increase the temperature (maybe 215-220 degrees) and reduce the oven time as well.
      2. The syrup sounds like the cheese may have split a little actually. Was your cream cheese softened / at room temperature?

      • Tammy

        25th May 2020 at 01:48 Reply

        I’ll try your recommendations. Thanks!
        The cheese is usually softened through the constant mixing and whisking but I would say the batter overall when poured into the pan is usually still somewhat cool. Could that be the reason?

  • CC

    2nd May 2020 at 14:33 Reply

    Not sure why my cheesecake came out watery/oily at the bottom and texture was not smooth/runny but more egg custardy, despite following the instructions 🙁

    • SforB

      10th May 2020 at 23:35 Reply

      There’s quite a chance that the cheesecake could have been overbaked. Ovens can be quite unpredictable, it may come out hotter than expected. Suggest getting an oven thermometer

  • Anonymous

    30th April 2020 at 18:46 Reply

    Hi S,

    Can I use the exact recipe to make Burnt Match Cheesecake? How much do I have to put for the Matcha powder?

    Thanks! 😉

    YL

    • Ivan

      20th November 2020 at 01:03 Reply

      Hey S thank you for your post. Firstly I was looking for something else re San Sabastian and had saw Basque cheese cake. I happened to click on your blog and as I was reading I had realized that we had also been to La Vina – while in San Sebastian. We were amazed in the amount of cheese cakes that were sitting on the bar. And like you high expectations and they were surpassed…….. their Pintxos are also Awesome….. Thank you for sharing. I look forward to making this wonderful recipe…… and enjoying the result and to re live that moment.

  • Sean

    21st April 2020 at 04:04 Reply

    If you bake this cheesecake for 50+ minutes, doesn’t is bake all the way through? The cheesecake we had in San Sebastián had a slightly runny center and was marvelous. The recipe we were given by the tour guide recommended a very similar recipe but a cook time of only 22 minutes at 500° F.

    • SforB

      21st April 2020 at 08:46 Reply

      I suppose you are right that they are much runnier indeed. I bake it at a slightly lower temperature for a slightly longer baking time for a slower “burning” of the cake. It’s still really creamy, but it’s not wet. If you do try 22 minutes at 500, let me know how it goes 🙂

    • SforB

      16th April 2019 at 17:27 Reply

      Hello Zieqahs, I haven’t tried it myself so can’t comment much. Even though it’s usually not quite recommended, I think it should be fine 🙂 Use a smaller springform pan though, maybe 6 inches. Also, reduce the baking time to 45-50 minutes instead. Over-baking cheesecakes will cause the cheese to split and result in a wet cake.

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