Burnt Basque Cheesecake

BY RICHARD CORNISH

This recipe came from a little café in the old town of San Sebastian in Spain's Basque Country. The café is famous for the cheesecake, and you'd think they would hold it as a closely guarded secret. This is the recipe that Frank Camorra from Movida and I got from the owner of the bar when we visited there back in 2008. It is a ripper of a recipe that to which Frank added a few tweaks for a little extra oomph. So easy to make, but do not scrimp on the quality of the ingredients.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 500 ml (2 cups) Inglenook cream

• 155 gm caster sugar

• 300 gm cream cheese, softened

• 5 Honest Eggs

• 180 gm goat's curd

• 125 gm (½ cup) thick plain yoghurt

• 2 lemons, finely grated rind only

• 1 lemon, juice only

• 40 ml brandy or Calvados

• 2 tbsp pure icing sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Lightly butter a 25cm springform tin, then dust with flour, shaking out excess. Process all remaining ingredients except icing sugar in a food processor until smooth (1-2 minutes). Pour into the prepared tin and bake until just set (25-30 minutes). Carefully remove cheesecake from the oven, sprinkle icing sugar over the top, and bake until set (8-10 minutes). Remove from oven and brown top under a scorching hot grill. Cool to room temperature before serving.