Basque Cheesecake with Passionfruit Curd

An absolute delight along with my favorite punchy curd recipe

Whenever I see a basque cheesecake it strikes me as an intimidating thing to make. My thoughts are - “I need to have wood fire oven to get the great color that gives its’ signature burnished look.” But while exploring this recipe I have discovered it takes less time than any cheesecake with a crust. The ingredients come together quickly in one bowl before being poured into the prepared spring form pan (a must here.) Another helpful tip is to have an oven thermometer. My oven runs a little low and I ended up cooking it longer to achieve the desired color. Ideally you don’t want to cook it much longer so it can maintain its’ jiggle and as it cools and sets it will remain smooth. I have paired mine with a passionfruit curd (any excuse to make this to be honest) but it would be just as nice with a passionfruit split open and its tangy pulp scooped over the top. Now onto the recipe :

Basque Cheesecake

• Unsalted butter, for greasing the pan

• 1½ pounds cream cheese, at room temperature

• 1¼ cups granulated sugar

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 Tbs. lemon zest

• 4 large eggs

• 1½ cups heavy cream

• 1 Tbs. vanilla extract

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour, sifted

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a greased 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper, pressing it into the bottom and up the sides. Place another piece of parchment paper and do the same thing. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese, lemon zest, sugar, and salt until smooth. Add the eggs, one by one, until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the heavy cream and vanilla extract slowly. Sift the flour and mix until just combined on low speed.

3. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

4. Bake for 50 minutes (or up to 65) until the top is deep golden brown but the center is still jiggly. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 2 hours. It will have risen and then sink as it cools.

5. When ready to serve, release the sides of the springform pan and carefully peel away the sides of the parchment. Slice the cake (see note) and serve with a generous dollop of passionfruit curd over the top.

Note: When serving the cake, I found it helpful to run a knife under hot water and dry before cutting into the cake to get neat slices.

Passionfruit Curd

Ingredients:

• 10 passionfruit or 1/2 cup passionfruit juice

• 2 large eggs

• 2 large egg yolks

• ¾ cups granulated sugar

• 1 stick unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Cut the passionfruit in half and scrape the seeded pulp into a food processor. Pulse to loosen the seeds from the pulp and strain into a bowl, reserving the juice.

2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar together.

3. In a small heavy based non-reactive pan, melt the butter over low heat. When melted, add the sugar-egg mixture and passionfruit juice and continue to cook, while stirring until it has thickened, around 3-5 minutes. You will know it done when it coats the back of a spoon.

4. Strain the mixture to remove any cooked egg bits and allow to cool.