Chocolate Basque Cheesecake Recipe

Chocolate is just the start – what happens when you bake it with cheese, and burn it ever so slightly? You get a chocolate basque cheesecake. Here’s how you can get started.

Chocolate is a mood, to be honest. I’ve been so obsessed with chocolate these past couple of years, not quite sure why. But I’m here for it. As part of a chocolate series, say hello to my Chocolate Basque Cheesecake! 

Here’s why you need to make this right now: 

• Easiest one-bowl recipe, EVER
• Extremely chocolatey – think cocoa powder AND melted chocolate
• Explosive flavour, with minimal effort 

All we need in life is a little chocolate, no? Let’s take a look at the ingredients!

What you need to make your Chocolate Basque Cheesecake 

Cream Cheese – we love cream cheese here, homemade or not. Of late, I’ve seen many recipes online for homemade cream cheese. While these may work for them, I have no such time. I’ve used Philadelphia Cream Cheese, 2 packages that totalled 450 grams. 

Sugar – I know it’s shocking, but you’ll need only 100 grams of sugar for this recipe. This is meant to be a rather strong chocolate-tasting cake, so I didn’t add too much sugar. Please don’t modify this quantity – it’ll affect the overall results. 

Fresh Cream – full fat, always. You can use vegan alternatives, but I’ve yet to try with any so I can’t promise that it’ll yield the same results. 

Eggs – I used three 65-gram eggs – these are extra large eggs. You can use 60-gram eggs, but I would recommend not using anything below that. 

Cocoa Powder – straight-up Dutch processed wonder, I’ve used Van Houten here. 

Chocolate – I’ve used a mixture of both dark and melted chocolate. The milk chocolate helps to offset the overall bitterness of the dark chocolate. You can use either or both, like I have. 

Coffee – this is completely optional. Coffee helps to enhance chocolate flavour, so it’s always a mainstay for me when I bake with chocolate. 

A blender for a bowl 

Yes, this chocolate basque cheesecake is made in a blender. Generally, basque cheesecakes are not made with a whip or in a machine, because the goal is to avoid incorporating too much air into the mixture. This is what makes this cake pretty easy to make!

Whenever I make this cake, I ensure that the ingredients are at room temperature, and then I place them all in the blender to mix evenly. This also ensures a lump-free batter, which is very important. You can always use a sift to pour your final batter through – this will remove excessive air bubbles, and cream cheese lumps. But do not use a stand mixer with a whip or paddle attachment, as the results you get will be quite different. 

Baking the chocolate basque cheesecake 

This is where the cheesecake becomes truly unique! The cake I’ve made doesn’t use flour, but the original recipe was as simple as having just five ingredients: cream cheese, sugar, fresh cream, eggs and a tad bit of flour to help the batter hold up in the oven. Read more about the history of the cake here.

I baked this cake in a hot, hot oven — 240°C. This recipe is for an 8-inch cake, which means you’ll need to leave it in the oven for longer than a usual 6-inch cake. Baking this chocolate basque cheesecake to burnt perfection took about 40 minutes. That is to say, the centre remained nice and jiggly, which is essential to making this cake. 

You’ll need to let the cake cool outside for a few hours, during which time the cake’s centre will sink. This is okay, as it’s becoming nice and fudgy in the centre.