Basque Cheesecake

The internationally known Basque cheesecake traces its origins to La Viña in San Sebastián. It is made without a biscuit or pastry base, and beneath its browned surface lies a soft cheese batter. Because no firm base is used and the cake is rested thoroughly after baking, you can enjoy the soft, melt-in-the-mouth texture of the cheese batter itself. The dessert was born in a single restaurant; chefs who tasted it while traveling took it back to many places, and as recipes (ingredient proportions and methods) and photos were published, a variety of methods spread.

Baked from five ingredients without a base

There are five basic ingredients: cream cheese, sugar, eggs, fresh cream and wheat flour. A batter rich in cheese and cream is set by the eggs during baking, and a small amount of flour helps hold it together. Unlike a sponge, for which the eggs are whipped separately, the ingredients are mixed into a single smooth batter.

The pan is lined with dampened baking paper, and the batter is poured in without a biscuit or pastry base. The base layer was eliminated so that a hard biscuit would not interfere with the sensation of the cheese melting away in the mouth. Not only the proportion of dairy but also the structure of the bottom affects the texture.

Texture that changes with the bake and the serving temperature

Baking at a high temperature colors the surface while leaving a moist softness in the center. Among the recipes the restaurant has published is one that bakes the cake at 210°C for about 40 minutes and then rests it for at least 4 hours. The cake is not unmolded straight out of the oven; it is finished through residual heat and cooling.

The serving temperature also changes the impression. Refrigerated, the batter becomes dense; at room temperature, its softness comes through. At La Viña, advice from a chef who visited in the late 1990s prompted the restaurant to reconsider keeping the cake in the refrigerator, and it began setting it out on the counter. The mouthfeel changes not only with how the cake is baked but also with the temperature at which it is eaten.

In English-speaking countries it is also called “burnt Basque cheesecake,” but its creator, Santiago Rivera, does not intend for it to be scorched to the point of bitterness. The surface is given a brown baked color, and how soft the center is left varies from maker to maker.

A cheesecake born from experiments on closing days

Santiago Rivera began working at his family’s restaurant in 1987 and, on Mondays when it was closed, experimented again and again by combining recipes from cookbooks. He tried not only cheesecake but also chocolate mousse and mango cream.

The restaurant’s official records give the year the dessert was created as 1990, while Rivera himself said 1988 in a 2023 interview. Although the year varies, both agree that it was born long after the restaurant’s founding in 1959, during his period of experimentation. At first he used a cheese similar to quark, and after a period of combining several cheeses, he switched to cream cheese. The cheese itself also changed as the experiments continued.

Each plate holds two smallish slices. This way of cutting it so that it can be enjoyed a little at a time ties in with the local way of eating at bars serving pintxos, where people also enjoy a small dish after the meal.

Chefs who discovered it while traveling spread it far and wide

As bar-hopping in San Sebastián became popular in the 2000s, travelers and chefs had more opportunities to discover La Viña’s cheesecake. Santiago Rivera says he has not kept the recipe secret and has also given it to chefs who asked for it. At MoVida in Melbourne, Australia, chef Frank Camorra began serving it in 2011 based on a recipe he had asked the restaurant for directly. At first he reproduced the original, and later he changed it to a soft version made with sheep’s milk. Even under the same Basque name, the type of milk and the firmness of the bake have changed in the places it reached.

There are also reports that the Turkish shop B.Blok adopted it in 2014. In the United States, chef Molly Baz published a recipe in Bon Appétit in 2019 based on a slice she ate while traveling; she increased the flour to make the center slightly firmer, added vanilla and salt, and reduced the sugar. While the brown surface has become widely known through photos and recipes, makers in many places have added their own touches to the bake and the dairy blend.

From restaurants in Japan to specialty shops and convenience stores

In Japan, according to its operating company, the restaurant “6th” in Yurakucho began serving it in 2016. This became one of the entry points through which it spread as a slice to enjoy after a meal.

On July 5, 2018, the specialty shop “GAZTA” opened in Shirokane. Its operator describes it as a shop that learned from the desserts of San Sebastián. The cake came to be offered not only as a dish eaten at restaurants but also by specialty shops that feature the dessert itself as their signature.

Lawson’s “Baschee” (バスチー) was released nationwide on March 26, 2019. Burnt caramel is applied to the top and bottom of a batter made from cream cheese and fresh cream with added milk. It is a product designed for refrigerated sale that combines a dairy batter with layers of caramel. A plate at a restaurant, a whole cake from a specialty shop and a chilled retail sweet differ in temperature and structure even under the same name.

The recipe published by Japanese pastry chef Kazuaki Eguchi also includes a small amount of lemon juice. The batter, with the ingredients mixed until smooth, is baked at a high temperature, left in the pan to cool slightly, and unmolded after it has chilled all the way to the center. He explains that, with the same recipe, using fresh cream with 35% milk fat gives a smooth result, while 40% or more gives a richer, heavier one. Not only the baked color but also the cream used is a choice that changes the mouthfeel.

The many cheesecakes of the Basque Country

The Basque Country also has cheesecakes different from La Viña’s. There are other northern Spanish recipes that use blue cheese or smoked cheese, and the deeply browned dessert known in Japan is one of the region’s many cheesecakes.

In 2024, at the Basque Country’s tourism awards, Rivera received a special jury prize because La Viña’s cheesecake had raised the profile of the region’s food. The dish served at the restaurant has also become a way for visitors to experience local food.

Glossary