Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake-Perfect for fall season!
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 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 a cross between 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 the top can be slightly drier or burnt due to the lack of steam from water bath. My parents, especially my dad, are lovers of cheesecake. I’ve made my Japanese Souffle cheesecake and Basque cheesecake for them, they love 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 creaminess but it doesn’t have as much sugar nor the density of a New York Cheesecake.
Ingredients
For this cheesecake, we are going to make it easy and do it all in one bowl!
- 1/2 cup of canned pure pumpkin puree
- 1 pack of cream cheese (250g or 1 cup)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
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. You can use an immersion blender or food processor. This is useful if you didn’t have time to let the ingredients come to room temperature.
If you don’t want to blend it, then make sure to let eggs, cream cheese and whipping cream come to room temperature and use a whisk. If you are not blending, make sure to strain it before going into the cake pan.
This cake recipe is for a 6 inch cake pan. If you want to make it bigger like a 8 inch cake pan multiple all your ingredients use this formula (8/6)2
- Preheat the oven to 425oF
- In a food processor or a bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and whipping cream.
- Blend it until smooth, add in canned pumpkin, egg and cornstarch. Blend until smooth.
- Crumple up a piece of parchment paper or use a Basque cheesecake liner in the cake pan
- Pour the mixture into the cake pan (you can strain the mixture for even smoother texture.
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes depending on your oven. The center of cake should be jiggly.
- Don’t remove it from the cake pan, refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Serve as after setting in the fridge.
Pro-Tip
- I used canned puree pumpkin. It’s just easier, if you find pumpkin like Japanese kabocha, you can steam it, it will allow the pumpkin to keep a lot of its moisture as well.
- It’s better to let the whipping/heavy cream, eggs and cream cheese come to room temperature. It’s easier to blend
- Use an immersion blender or a food processor to blend basque cheesecake mixture. It helps to mix it faster and also smoother
- After putting into the cake pan, use a toothpick/skewer or a chopstick to remove some of the air bubbles. The food processor/immersion blender will introduce air bubbles into the batter.
- If you like having a burnt top, at the end, turn your oven to broil and broil for about 1-2 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, decrease the baking time by 2-3 minutes.
Pumpkin Burnt Basque Cheesecake
Ingredients
- ยฝ cup of canned pure pumpkin puree
- 1 pack of cream cheese 250g or 1 cup
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- โ cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ยฝ cup whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425โ
- In a food processor or a bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and whipping cream.
- Blend it until smooth, add in canned pumpkin, egg and cornstarch. Blend until smooth.
- Crumple up a piece of parchment paper or use a Basque cheesecake liner in the cake pan
- Pour the mixture into the cake pan (you can strain the mixture for even smoother texture.
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes depending on your oven. The center of cake should be jiggly.
- Don’t remove it from the cake pan, refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Serve as after setting in the fridge.
