 | |
| Course | Dessert |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Spain |
| Region or state | Basque Country |
| Created by | Santiago Rivera |
| Invented | 1988 |
| Main ingredients | Cream cheese, sugar, eggs, cream, flour |
Basque cheesecake, also known as cheesecake San Sebastian or burnt Basque cheesecake (Spanish: tarta de queso vasca), is a crustless cheesecake originating from the Basque region of Spain. It is characterized by its caramelized, nearly burnt exterior and creamy, custard-like interior, achieved by baking at high temperatures.
Basque cheesecake was created in 1988 by Santiago Rivera at his pintxo bar La Viña in San Sebastián, a coastal city in the Basque Country, Spain. [1] [2] [3] It achieved popularity online in the 2010s, helped by a recipe published by the British food writer Nigella Lawson. [3] In 2021, Basque cheesecake was widely shared on Instagram and became "ubiquitous" in the UK. [2] That year, The New York Times listed it as a "flavor of the year". [4]
Basque cheesecake has a caramelized, nearly burnt exterior and creamy, custard-like interior, achieved by baking at high temperatures. [2] [3] [5] The flavor is subtly sweet with notes of caramel and hints of bitterness from the browned top. [6] Chefs have added ingredients such as vanilla, citrus zest, or liquorice sauce. [2] [3]
Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly savory to create desserts. In some parts of the world, there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.
Bread pudding is a bread-based dessert popular in many countries' cuisines. It is made with stale bread and milk or cream, generally containing eggs, a form of fat such as oil, butter or suet and, depending on whether the pudding is sweet or savory, a variety of other ingredients. Sweet bread puddings may use sugar, syrup, honey, dried fruit, nuts, as well as spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, or vanilla. The bread is soaked in the liquids, mixed with the other ingredients, and baked. Some other names bread pudding goes by is "poor man's pudding", "bread and butter pudding" or just "pudding".
Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate and which share features with desserts such as pastries, meringues, custards, and pies.
Pudding is a type of food which can either be a dessert served after the main meal or a savoury dish, served as part of the main meal.
Spanish omelette or Spanish tortilla is a traditional dish from Spain. It is celebrated as one of the most popular dishes of the Spanish cuisine. It is an omelette made with eggs and potatoes, usually including onion. It is often served at room temperature as a tapa.
Crème caramel, flan, caramel pudding, condensed milk pudding or caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of clear caramel sauce.
A soufflé is a baked egg dish originating in France in the early 18th century. Combined with various other ingredients, it can be served as a savoury main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The word soufflé is the past participle of the French verb souffler, which means to blow, breathe, inflate or puff.
Cheesecake is a dessert made with a soft fresh cheese, eggs, and sugar. It may have a crust or base made from crushed cookies, graham crackers, pastry, or sometimes sponge cake. Cheesecake may be baked or unbaked, and is usually served chilled.
Banoffee pie is a British dessert pie made from bananas, whipped cream, and a thick caramel sauce, combined either on a buttery biscuit base or one made from crumbled biscuits and butter. Some versions of the recipe include chocolate, coffee, or both.
Sticky toffee pudding, known as sticky date pudding in Australia and New Zealand, is a British dessert consisting of a moist sponge cake covered in a toffee sauce, often served with a vanilla custard or vanilla ice cream. It is widely served in the Lake District in northwest England, where it is a culinary symbol.
Caramel shortbread, also known as caramel squares, caramel slice, millionaire's shortbread, millionaire's slice, chocolate caramel shortbread or Wellington squares is a biscuit confectionery composed of a shortbread biscuit base topped with caramel and milk chocolate. Variations exist which substitute or add ingredients to cater to different tastes, dietary requirements or ingredient availability.
Ratatouille is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables that originated in Nice and is sometimes referred to as ratatouille niçoise. Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include tomato, garlic, onion, courgette (zucchini), aubergine, capsicum, and some combination of leafy green herbs common to the region, such as chives or fennel.
A beanpot is a deep, wide-bellied, short-necked vessel used to cook bean-based dishes. Beanpots are typically made of ceramic, though some are made of other materials, such as cast iron. The relatively narrow mouth of the beanpot minimizes evaporation and heat loss, while its deep, wide, thick-walled body facilitates long, slow cooking times.
Sponge cake is a light cake made with eggs, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most of them do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain. The sponge cake is thought to be one of the first non-yeasted cakes, and the earliest attested sponge cake recipe in English is found in a book by the British poet Gervase Markham, The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman (1615). Still, the cake was much more like a cracker: thin and crispy. Sponge cakes became the cake recognised today when bakers started using beaten eggs as a rising agent in the mid-18th century. The Victorian creation of baking powder by British food manufacturer Alfred Bird in 1843 allowed the addition of butter to the traditional sponge recipe, resulting in the creation of the Victoria sponge. Cakes are available in many flavours and have many recipes as well. Sponge cakes have become snack cakes via the Twinkie.
Crème brûlée, also known as burnt cream or Trinity cream, and virtually identical to crema catalana, is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hardened caramelized sugar. It is normally served slightly chilled; the heat from the caramelizing process tends to warm the top of the custard, while leaving the center cool. The custard base is generally flavored with vanilla in French cuisine, but can have other flavorings. It is sometimes garnished with fruit.
The pantxineta is a typical dessert of the Basque Country. It consists of a bun of puff-pastry filled with thick custard cream; it is topped with almonds and often decorated with icing sugar.
Coffee and walnut cake is a sponge cake flavoured with coffee and walnuts.
Quesada pasiega is a dessert typical of the region of Cantabria, Spain. It is one of the best-known dishes of Cantabrian cuisine. It has the consistency of a dense pudding, and is made from milk, sugar, butter, wheat flour, and egg, and flavored with lemon zest and cinnamon. The batter is typically mixed until smooth and then baked to perfection, resulting in a soft and creamy interior with a slightly firm outer layer. The dessert is known for its delicate sweetness, subtle hints of lemon or cinnamon. It can be served hot or cold. Quesada Pasiega is a beloved dessert in Cantabria, enjoyed on various occasions, from family gatherings to special celebrations. Its rich history and traditional preparation methods have made it a culinary gem, showcasing the region's culinary heritage and providing a delightful taste of Spanish gastronomy.
Felicity Cloake is an English food and travel writer. Her books include The A-Z of Eating: A Flavour Map for the Adventurous Cook (2016), Completely Perfect (2018), One More Croissant for the Road (2019), and Red Sauce, Brown Sauce: A British Breakfast Odyssey (2022). She writes for The Guardian and the New Statesman.
