I have not met a single person who didn’t enjoy eating the Basque cheesecake I make. I’ve have people that tell me that they don’t like dessert, but when they take a bite of my Basque cheesecake, they widen their eyes at me and say, “that’s REALLY good”.
Ok, enough bragging. This Basque cheesecake recipe is actually adapted from one by The Little Epicurean. I wanted to add a little twist on it, and after great success with my matcha and ube sugar cookies, I decided to add matcha and ube. The result? Amazing.
So, what is a Basque cheesecake?
The Basque cheesecake comes from the Basque region of Spain. It’s baked at a high temperature in the oven for a short period of time which leads to a burnt yet caramelized top with a creamy, custardy interior. Additionally, it is way lighter than a New York style cheesecake and has a gooey center that I LOVE. Traditionally, the Basque cheesecake doesn’t have a crust, but the crust is honestly my favorite part of a cheesecake, so I had to add it.
And what is ube?
Ube is a purple yam that comes from the Philippines. It has a slightly nutty, subtle taste and adds a stunning purple hue to baked goods. For my recipe, I use a combination of ube halaya (an ube jam which can be found at a Filipino market) and ube extract (which can be found on Amazon) to make the cheesecake filling ube-flavored.
This Basque cheesecake has an ube cheesecake filling and a matcha crust made with vanilla wafer cookies. It has a perfectly caramelized top with a creamy, gooey interior. It is certainly a showstopper, and it’s incredibly easy to make! Seriously though, it’s hard to mess this up. It’s supposed to be burnt. It’s supposed to have a few cracks on top. It’s supposed to have a gooey center. Trust me, this cheesecake is so much easier to make than it looks.
tips for success
- Make sure the parchment paper is at least 2 inches extended over the top of the cake pan – the cheesecake will rise in the oven. If the parchment paper isn’t extended long enough, the cheesecake filling will spill!
- Keep scraping down the sides of the food processor! – part of the batter tends to get stuck at the top or in corners, leading to some unmixed parts of the batter. To avoid this issue, keep scraping down the sides to ensure every bit of the batter is mixed together.
- Bake at 450°F – baking at a high temperature burns and caramelizes the top while ensuring the middle of the cheesecake stays custardy.
- Let the cheesecake cool completely and refrigerate in the fridge – when first taken out of the oven, the cheesecake will be very jiggly. It will be too fragile to cut into. Wait for it to cool, and then place in the fridge . It’s worth the wait!
ube matcha basque burnt cheesecake
makes one 6-inch cheesecake | adapted from the little epicurean
ingredients:
- 2 cups (130 grams) vanilla wafer cookies
- 1/2 tablespoon matcha powder
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons (16 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 lb. (454 grams) cream cheese
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) ube halaya
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ube extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a 6-inches round and 3-inches deep cake pan with a removable bottom with parchment paper, making sure there is at least two inches of excess parchment paper over the top. Place the prepared cake pan on a baking sheet in case of any spills.
- In a food processor, pulse the vanilla wafers, matcha powder, and kosher salt together until made into fine crumbs. Add the melted butter, and pulse until evenly distributed. Using the bottom of a measuring cup or glass cup, press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk the flour and salt together until well-combined. Add a small amount of the heavy cream, and whisk together. Keep adding the heavy cream in small increments and whisking until a whole cup of heavy cream is used. Set aside.
- Clean the food processor, and add the cream cheese, sugar, and ube halaya. Pulse until well-combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides. Add one egg, the ube extract, and vanilla extract. Pulse until well-combined. Add the second egg, and pulse until well-combined. Scrape down the sides, and add the third (last) egg, pulsing until smooth.
- Add the mixture from step 3, and run the food processor for 30 seconds until smooth. Pour the filling onto the crust in the prepared cake pan. Use a toothpick to get rid of some of the big bubbles that might have formed at the top.
- Bake for 40 minutes. The cheesecake should be jiggly and burnt on top. Let the cheesecake cool on a wire rack until room temperature, and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
- Cut into desired portions, and enjoy this showstopper!
Oh, my! I love gooey!