I love fall weather. While it was quite warm in September in Ontario, October has been cooling down. This means I can pull out my sweaters for the fall. With fall reaching its peak, I’m reminded of the fall colours and foods associated with fall especially for Thanksgiving. In the past, I’ve always made pumpkin pie but this year I’m switching it up with a pumpkin basque cheesecake.
What is a Basque Cheesecake?
Basque Cheesecake originated from the Basque region of Spain. It’s slightly different in that it doesn’t have crust like a New York Cheesecake and more dense than the very popular Japanese cheesecake. The texture of a basque cheesecake is more in the middle of New York and Japanese cheesecake. It’s softer and creamier than New York cheesecake but not as airy as Japanese cheesecake. In addition, basque cheesecake are not baked in a water bath so it has a bit of burnt top due to lack of steam from water bath. My parents, especially my dad is a lover of cheesecake. I’ve made my Japanese Souffle cheesecake and Basque cheesecake, he loves both. The texture of Basque cheesecake is more dense and creamy with a slight more caramel taste due to the burnt top. If you prefer a lighter cheesecake, Japanese cheesecake is definitely the way to go. I love basque cheesecake for its cream cheese creminess but it doesn’t have as much sugar nor the density of a New York Cheesecake.
Pumpkin Basque cheesecake, a twist on classic!
Since we are approaching Thanksgiving (in Canada), I’ve decided to make a pumpkin Basque cheesecake instead of a pumpkin pie. I’m using a Japanese Kabocha or Japanese Squash. Fun Fact: Pumpkin is part of the Squash family! I like Japanese Kabocha because of a slightly softer texture. I also prefer the Japanese Kabocha flavour as it is a bit sweeter.
Ingredients
For this cheesecake, the main ingredients are cream cheese, Japanese kabocha, whipping/heavy cream, sugar, egg, corn starch. A lot of these ingredients can be found easily and to make it is even easier.
How to make it
Unlike Japanese cheesecake, where you need to whip up the egg whites, basque cheesecake can be made by combining all the ingredients and blending them until smooth. If you want to be fancy, you can pour the mixture into the Japanese kabocha. If done that way, it needs to be steamed as a whole first and then pulp and seeds need to be removed. Or you can bake it as a whole for 40-60 minutes (I find steaming faster). Then once the basque cheesecake mixture is made, it is poured into Japanese Kabocha shell. The Japanese Kabocha is wrapped with foil and baked in the oven. If not doing that way, simply pour into a parchment paper lined cake pan ( ideally should be about 5cm or 2 in tall).
Pro-Tip
- I steamed the whole Japanese Kabocha to avoid cutting while it is raw, however you can cut it into smaller pieces so the steaming time is shorter.
- Steam until you can cut into kabocha easily. Start by steaming 30 minutes and use a knife to see if it is cooked underneath.
- If your kabocha is too big to steam either lid closed, can also use tin foil. Alternatively, you can bake it at 400F for 40-60 minutes (always check at intervals)
- Use a blender to blend basque cheesecake mixture. It helps to mix it faster and also smoother
- If you like having a burnt top, at the end, turn your oven to broil and broil for about 2-3 minutes (keep an eye on it as it can burn very easily)
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours in order for the cheesecake to firm up or else it will be way to soft to cut.
- If you like a more runny center, then you can refrigerate for less time.
Pumpkin Burnt Basque Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 250 g cream cheese a single package or (8.8oz)
- 200 g pumpkin (7.05oz)
- 15 g flour (0.52oz)
- 50 g sugar (1.76oz)
- 3 eggs
- 125 ml whipping cream (½ cups or 120g or 4.23oz)
Instructions
- Wash the Japanese Kabocha. The one I'm using is about 4 lbs. Place into a steamer for 45 minutes on medium high heat
- Once the pumpkin is soft enough for a knife to poke through, take it out and let it cool
- While it's cooling, add whipping/heavy cream, sugar, cream cheese, eggs into a food processor
- Cut the top off the kabocha, use a spoon to remove the seeds. Then remove pulp from the insides
- Mash up the pulp. Optional, strain through a strainer for smoother texture.
- Add 200g of the kabocha pulp to the cream cheese mixture. Blend everything together.
- Preheat the oven to 425℉
- Once everything is blended, pour into 4 inch cake mold with parchment paper
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the middle is still jiggly. If you like the top to be slightly burnt, turn to broil for 2-3 minutes.
- Take the pumpkin basque cheesecake out and let it cool.
- Place into the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving
Chinese Ice Cream Cheese Pudding (冰酥酪)
Scallion oil noodles
