Basque Cheesecake

12 Mar, 2026

This is one of my favourite recipes and I'm sad to part with it....hopefully you guys love this as well! (But it's ok if you don't, I know cheesecakes are not for everybody)

Ingredients:

Filling
• 450 g cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup flour

Crust
• Graham crackers/Marie biscuits
• 1 tbsp melted butter

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Add cream cheese and sugar to a large bowl and mix it all together.
3. Add a pinch of salt. Incorporate all 3 eggs one at a time.
4. Add heavy cream and vanilla extract. Mix.
5. Add flour and mix.
6. Crush the biscuits and combine with melted butter.
7. Line baking tin with parchment paper. Put a layer of biscuits on the base and pour the filling on top.
8. Bake in a water bath at 200°C for 50 mins.
9. You'll know when the cheesecake is done when the edges are set but the center is still soft and moves a little when you shake the tin.
10. Cool before serving. Top it with any garnish of your choice like fruits, caramel or whipped cream (or none at all!).

Notes:
‣ Adding little flour prevents the cheesecake from cracking.
‣ When you make the biscuit layer, I like to keep it coarse instead of a fine powder. A fine powder can be pretty overwhelming at times.
‣ The water bath helps the cheesecake to bake evenly as the heat is distributed. To avoid water from seeping into the cake tin, cover the base of the tin with some aluminium foil. This will also aid in baking your cheesecake evenly.
‣ Don't over bake the cheesecake.
‣ All ingredients should be at room temperature.

I've made a caramel sauce to elevate the flavour of my cheesecake, the instructions for this is below. This is totally optional.

Caramel sauce

Ingredients:
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 6 tbsp butter (85g)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Add the sugar to a saucepan and distribute it evenly. Drizzle the water over the sugar and let it sit to moisten the sugar. Do not stir the sugar. Let it dissolve completely on medium heat for about 5 mins.
2. Bring it to a simmer without stirring. Once you see a little colour appearing, swirl the mixture occasionally until it turns a light, honey colour. Do not brown it more as the caramel will become bitter.
3. Reduce the heat and whisk in the softened butter slowly. Keep whisking until the butter is fully incorporated. If it starts to separate, take it off the heat and whisk until incorporated.
4. Slowly add in the heavy cream while whisking continuously. Keep whisking until smooth and then take off the heat.
5. Add the vanilla extract and salt. Taste and adjust the salt as needed.
6. Let the caramel cool slightly before using. It will start to thicken as it cools.

Notes:
‣ Do not stir the sugar as it melts as it will splash on the sides of your saucepan and crystallise. These crystals can then crystallise your caramel.
‣ Ensure that you are providing it even heat.
‣ Warm the heavy cream slightly before using so that it doesn't splatter or separate.
‣ In case the caramel looks grainy (meaning it's crystallised), add a few tbsp of hot water and whisk over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.

Well that's all! Hope you guys find this helpful!