It’s lovey dovey time again and this year I made a heart-shaped Raspberry Basque Cheesecake. I had bought that heart shaped spring form mini pan ages ago and never used it. To make the best of it, I thought to bake my first ever St. Sebastian Cheesecake in it. The raspberry addition was mainly to give it a pink tint to match the season.

It took quite a bit of trial and error to achieve a camera worthy burnt top, while making sure not to lose too much of sides of the cake when it was time to peel off the baking paper. I also adapted and adjusted a lot of recipes to be able to bake a small one of this size, while maintaining a soft and creamy interior. In the end, the taste was pretty satisfying and I only had to reshoot once 😀

I believe the biggest challenge while making the Basque Cheesecake is to be careful not to whisk it too hard. If you whisk it too vigorously it will end up with a lot of foamy air bubbles in the batter and this will result in a final texture that closer to regular New York cheesecake as opposed to dense, creamy, barely done center, that is signature to St. Sebastian cheesecakes.

Here’s the recipe!

• Ingredients – makes 3 cheesecakes with a 7.5cm diameter or a larger one with a 16cm diameter:
  • 350g cream cheese
  • 120g granulated white sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 210g heavy cream (230 ml)
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 Tbsp raspberry jam (optional)
  • 45g AP flour (5 tsp)
  • 1/4 tsp salt

• Method:
  1. Add the cream cheese and sugar to a bowl and cream together. You can do this with a balloon whisk by hand. Don’t whisk too vigorously!
  2. Add the eggs one at a time and continue to whisk in between additions.
  3. Add the heavy cream and continue to whisk until smooth.
  4. Add the vanilla, raspberry jam and salt. Whisk.
  5. Sift in the flour and gently stir it in until the batter is smooth and homogenous.
  6. Pour the batter into the paper-lined pan(s) and bake for 25-30 minutes at 220 degrees Celsius if you are making one larger cake and bake for 12-14 minutes if you are making 3 small cakes.
  7. The top and center of the cakes will still be soft and jiggly. If the top is not dark enough, you can put the cake under a broiler for another 5 minutes.
  8. Once out of the oven, let the cakes rest for at least six hours before serving.
  9. Enjoy!