Name: Mini Basque Cheesecake (Mini Burnt Cheesecake)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 265 min
Ingredients: 250 g cream cheese ((at room temperature)); 75 g granulated sugar; 150 ml cream; 1 tbsp all purpose flour; ⅛ tsp salt; ½ tsp vanilla essence; 1 egg

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This mini Basque cheesecake recipe makes the creamiest, most delectable mini burnt cheesecakes in cupcakes sizes, perfect for parties!

Basque cheesecakes are cheesecakes that are baked at a high temperature, without any crust, yielding perfectly caramelized tops and soft and gooey centers. These cakes are also often referred to as burnt cheesecakes but they are not meant to be burnt in literal sense. The term burnt is used to describe the dark caramelized top of the cheesecakes.

In fact, an important factor to remember when making these mini Basque cheesecakes or any other Basque cheesecakes is to not over brown or burn the tops. Ideally, the cakes should be baked only to the point they achieve a dark caramelized look and not beyond that.

A mini cheesecake with its parchment lining peeled off. — Mini Basque Cheesecake Recipe

This mini Basque cheesecake recipe is a small batch mini cheesecakes recipe, and makes a total of 6 mini cheesecakes. It can also be made into a slightly large mini cheesecake size of 6 inches round cake tin.

What is the difference between a normal cheesecake and a burnt Basque cheesecake?
How to Make
Notes
- Oven temperature
- Baking time and cake texture
Like this recipe? Here are my other posts you might want to check out
Recipe (Printable)

What is the difference between a normal cheesecake and a burnt Basque cheesecake?

Firstly, there is not crust for a Basque cheesecake, unlike a typical cheesecake that has a cookie crust.
Secondly, burnt cheesecakes are baked at high temperature to achieve the caramelized top. Traditional cheesecakes are require a much lower temperature and often in water baths to avoid overbrowning of the tops.
Thirdly, Basque cheesecakes are often lined with folded parchment paper and can be baked in a normal round cake tin. The rather irregular sides of the Basque cheesecake is its distinct feature. A traditional cheesecake with cookie or cake crust require to be baked in a springform pan for easy removal.
And finally, a Basque cheesecake has a light texture compared to a normal cheesecake. It rises up during baking and settles down as it cools down. A perfect Basque cheesecake should have a gooey center. A traditional cheesecake, on the other hand, has a denser and firmer texture. Both types of cheesecakes are however, best served chilled.

How to Make

Ingredients

Cream cheese
Granulated sugar
Egg
Heavy cream
Plain flour
Salt
Vanilla essence

Preparing the parchment casings

A distinct feature of these mini burnt cheesecakes is their signature slightly crumpled parchment paper lining.

A poster of 4 images showing how to make parchment lining.

To make the lining, start by cutting square pieces of parchment paper pieces. The size of the squares will depend on the size of your muffin pan. For a muffin pan with holes size of 2.75 cm diameter at the top and 2.25 inches diameter at the bottom and 1.25 inches deep, I cut parchment squares measuring 5.5 inches by 6inches. Place the paper on your muffin tray, making sure it is well centered.
Press it into the holes.
Use your finger tips to press into the edges.
Trim off excess corners of the paper at the top. Do not cut too much, there should be excess paper above the rims of each muffin hole of the tray. This will help ensure your mini Basque cheesecake batter does not overflow in the oven. These mini cupcake cheesecakes tend to rise quite high during baking.

Mixing the cheesecake batter

A poster of 6 images showing how to mix batter.

Before you start, make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature, especially the cheese. Also, preheat the oven to 225 degrees Celsius.

Add the cheese into a mixing bowl. Beat it until smooth for 30 to 60 seconds on medium speed until smooth.
Add the granulated sugar and beat again for 20 seconds.
Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, salt and vanilla essence. Beat until smooth for 20 seconds.
Scrape the sides of the bowl again. Fold in the flour.
Finally, add the cream. Mix well. You can use a cake mixer to beat the cream in or use a spatula. If using the machine, limit the beating time to 20 seconds. Too much beating will cause the cheesecake batter to incorporate too much air bubble. It will leave unsightly bubbly surface to your mini Basque cheesecake.

Baking and chilling

A poster of 4 images showing how to pour cheesecake batter into mini casings.

For easy pouring, transfer the batter into a large mixing glass.
Pour the batter into the prepared parchment lined muffin cups until the rim of the muffin cup holes. The excess parchment paper on the sides is also meant to ensure there are no overflows of the batter.
Bake the mini Basque cheesecake cupcakes on the middle rack in your oven at 225 degrees Celsius for 10 to 12 minutes. Keep close watch of the mini Basque cheesecakes after the 10 minutes mark. If your cheesecakes are well browned on the top, you can turn off the oven and need not wait until the 12 minutes are up.
These mini Basque cheesecake cupcakes should ideally be well caramelized at the top (not entirely burnt) and yet the batter should still be wobbly in the center as you shake the muffin tray. Turn off the oven and let the cakes rest in the oven for about 30 seconds before removing them and cooling them to room temperature.

The cakes are best served after refrigeration for about 3 to 4 hours.

A mini basque cheesecake with its parchment lining peeled off. — Mini Basque Cheesecake - Mini Burnt Cheesecakes in Cupcake Sizes

Notes

Oven temperature

These mini Basque burnt cheesecake are baked at a higher than normal cakes and cheesecakes temperature. While a traditional cheesecake is best baked at a slightly lower temperature compared to a normal cake, these Basque cheesecakes are best baked at a higher temperature of 225 degrees Celsius for about 10 to 12 minutes.
Do take note, however, that results may vary from one oven to another, so it is always best to try out to see if the temperature yields the results expected.

Baking time and cake texture

Given that these are mini cupcake sized Basque cheesecake, the baking time is quite short. This is similar to traditional mini cheesecakes.
Baking the cakes for too long will give them a quiche like texture. The taste will still be fine, but Basque cheesecakes are meant to have soft and creamy texture and you achieve this by controlling the cooking time.
Larger Basque cheesecakes typically have gooey centers, but that is hard to achieve with smaller version like these mini cheesecakes as the high heat they are baked in tend to cook the centers more than it does to a larger cake. It is however, possible to achieve a soft, light and creamy texture for these mini Basque cheesecakes by placing them in the middle rack in the oven, baking at a high temperature of 225 degrees Celsius and keeping the baking time short.
When fully baked, the center of these burnt cheesecakes should be wobbly. The cakes continue to cook as they cool down, and therefore, you should stop cooking them when they reach this stage.

Like this recipe? Here are my other posts you might want to check out

Recipe (Printable)

Here is the full printable version of my mini Basque cheesecake recipe.

A mini burnt cheesecake with its parchment lining peeled off.

Mini Basque Cheesecake (Mini Burnt Cheesecake)

This mini Basque cheesecake recipe makes the creamiest, most delectable mini burnt cheesecakes in cupcakes sizes, perfect for parties!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Spain

Keyword: Mini Basque Cheesecake

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Chilling time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes

Yield: 6 mini cheesecakes

Author: Priya Maha

Metric - US Customary