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Basque Cheesecake - extra cheese variant

Adapted from Giacomo Bocchio

Tools

  • 8 inch with removable bottom
  • 6 inch pan with removable bottom
  • Immersion blender

Ingredients

Originally for 25cm / 9.8 inch pan, but worked well with an 8 inch + 6 inch pan

Note: 7 large grade A chicken eggs produced around the right amount of yolk/white

Cheesecake

  • 3 8oz packs cream cheese, room temp
    • recipe calls for 600g
  • 375g of any buttery cheese. Mild flavor results in good texture but not much extra taste; use stronger cheese next time
  • 25g blue cheese
  • 400g sugar
  • 140g egg yolk
  • 280g egg white
  • 1 pint heavy cream
    • recipe calls for 500g
  • 30g flour

Balsamic reduction

  • 1:1 ratio by weight of balsamic vinegar and sugar

Directions, cheesecake

  • Preheat oven to 415F
    • recipe calls for 220C, but that seemed a bit too high
  • Add heavy cream and buttery cheese to a pot in medium-low heat. Whisk it and melt it slowly. Don't let it reach a boil
  • Put cream cheese in a bowl and cream it. Easiest to start with a spatula; may never get soft enough to whisk. Important thing is just to get all the lumps out
  • When cream and cheese mixture is almost done, add blue cheese, continue whisking until it melts in
  • Once the cheese mixture has melted, pour it onto the cream cheese. Use immersion blender to combine until mixture cools down a little before adding eggs, as you don't want the eggs to cook
  • Don't over mix, or dairy will curdle
  • Add rest of ingredients: egg yolk, egg white, sugar, flour, then continue blending
    • in recipe, everything is just dumped in at once
  • Line pans with parchment paper. Cut off excess, leaving just a cm or two folded over the edge. If paper is too high, it begins to burn and crumple
  • Pour batter in
  • Put pans in oven. Bake for a total of 32 minutes. Every 8 minutes, rotate the pans clockwise by 90 degrees so top bakes evenly
    • Towards the end, keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn
  • After removing from oven, let cakes sit on cooling racks until room temp or at least only slightly warm
  • Leave in pans, then refrigerate uncovered for at least 4 hours. Overnight is better
  • Unmold before serving

Directions, balsamic reduction

  • Mix vinegar and sugar in a pot
  • Keep it at a low simmer until sugar dissolves

Basque Cheesecake - basic variant (WIP)

Adapted from:

Ingredients (9 inch):

  • 2 lb cream cheese, softened (4 packs)
  • 1.25 cups granulated sugar (250g)
  • 5 large eggs, room temperature
  • Did not use: 2 egg yolks
  • 2 cups heavy cream, room temperature
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 0.25 cup all purpose flour

Ingredients (8 inch):

TBD

Ingredients (6 inch):

  • 1 lb cream cheese, softened (2 packs)
  • 150g granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tbsp all purpose flour

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 400F (425 for 6 inch).
  • In mixer bowl, cream together the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until the sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing between each addition until fully incorporated. Add the egg yolks and beat to incorporate. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. The batter should be very smooth and homogenous.
  • Slowly pour in the cream and mix until incorporated. Add the vanilla and salt and mix just to combine.
  • Use a fine-mesh sieve to sift in the flour, then mix until just incorporated.
  • Crumple 1 or 2 sheets of parchment paper (depending on pan size), then unwrap and press into pan, stacking the top sheet perpendicular to the bottom sheet so the entire pan is covered. Make sure some excess sticks up from the sides as the cheesecake will rise quite a bit. If using a removable bottom pan, you can use the insert to help press the paper into shape.
  • Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Place on a baking sheet.
  • Bake the cheesecake until the top is a dark golden brown and the cake is slightly jiggly in the center, ~50-55 minutes (~35-40 min for 6 inch). If the top doesn't seem brown enough when otherwise ready, broil for 30 sec - 1 min (be careful and check often as it burns fast). DON'T LET THE PARCHMENT PAPER BURN BY TOUCHING THE UPPER HEATING ELEMENT.
  • Cooling suggestions:
    • Let cool at room temperature for 2 hours, then remove the springform and gently unwrap the parchment from the sides of the cheesecake. Cheescake can also be refrigerated covered for a few days.
    • Let cool at room temperature , then refrigerate uncovered for 5 hours or 2 days