My go-to cheesecake these days is a burnt Basque. It’s so good it doesn’t even need a biscuit base, which might be the very reason some people aren’t fans. But Basque cheesecakes are rarely too sweet, because the burnt top provides just enough bitterness to balance things out and the insides stay ridiculously creamy. If I can give you one tip, though, it’s to make sure you take it out of the oven while it’s still really wobbly, to get the best set. An overbaked Basque is no fun at all.
Toffee apple Basque cheesecake
I’ve given this an easy autumn spin with a generous topping of lightly spiced toffee apple slices.
Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Chill Overnight
Serves 12
750g cream cheese
220g caster sugar
1½ tsp vanilla bean paste
4 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
300ml double cream
1 tsp fine sea salt
20g plain flour
For the toffee apples
3 eating apples
60g butter
80g dark brown sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
120ml double cream
Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan)/465F/gas 9. Scrunch up two large sheets of baking paper, then smooth them out into the corners of a deep 20cm cake tin.
Put the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl or stand mixer, and beat briefly until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the extra yolk, making sure you don’t beat at high speed to avoid incorporating too much air. Stir in the cream and salt.
Scoop about an eighth of the batter into a smaller bowl and sift the flour on top. Mix well to ensure there are no lumps, then scrape it back into the main mixture and stir well to combine.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is very well browned and the cheesecake still has a huge wobble. (If the top isn’t dark enough, just put it under a hot grill for a couple of minutes.) Leave the cheesecake to cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge, ideally overnight. The next day, remove the cheesecake from its tin.
To make the toffee apples, peel and core the apples, then slice them thickly into eighths. Heat the butter in a wide pan, then toss in the apples, turning to coat, and cook for three to four minutes, until they start to soften around the edges. Add the sugar and cinnamon, stir to combine, then, once the sugar has melted, pour in the cream. Cook briefly until the sauce is smooth, let it simmer for a minute, then take off the heat and stir in a pinch of salt.
Let the apples cool, then spoon them and some of the caramel sauce on top of the cheesecake. Serve slices of cheesecake with extra sauce, if you like.
