Do you remember the Basque cheesecake craze of spring 2020? Or is that time tinted with a weird blur of many cocktails and binge-watching TV? When everyone started making these creamy Basque cheesecakes, at first I thought about how my favorite part of a cheesecake is actually the crust. But in the case of this beauty, it is all about the filling. Well, there is only the filling. It is its own cake. One batter, baked to perfection. And now, I offer you my take on it and in the perfect size. This small batch basque cheesecake will easily become your favorite.
I tried to make the famous cheesecake last year and it was a success, of course, but the fact that I have to use whole 2 tubs of cream cheese and a bath of heavy cream, somehow seemed too much for me. And with being only 2 people living together, we ended up eating the cake for 4 days. This small batch Basque cheesecake is perfect for a small household and when you are craving something creamy and decadent.
So I set out to make a small batch Basque cheesecake that won’t break your bank and your back while carrying kilos of cream cheese from the store. I had to do some math at first. Calculate the number of ingredients needed. I used my small loaf tin for this which is smaller than the ones usually sold in stores. And it was a bit too small since the cake will rise almost twice its size and then sink back down. But once it sunk, it fits into the pan again. Lucky, I guess.
I am not a baker by profession or choice, I like to cook savory dishes and sometimes foolproof bread recipes that are not too extreme. When it comes to baking, I believe that it is absolutely open to variations and experiments the same way as cooking is, BUT since I don’t eat more than one portion of dessert per week, I am not too keen on making it either. This small batch Basque cheesecake is really easy to make and satisfied my cravings for the next few days. I did have 3 pieces after all.
The whole cheesecake is held together with roughly one heaping tablespoon of flour. I decided to leave gluten-free experiments to later on this year, once fresh berries start. I ended up serving it with a quick berry sauce that I sizzled up on the stovetop in like 5 minutes. I used some frozen redcurrants that were already starting to smell like dill and chicken stock from the freezer. Serve this with any store-bought berry sauce or caramel drizzle. Maybe even chocolate, just don’t tell me. This small batch Basque cheesecake is dangerous because it is so easy to whip it up.
Now, let’s go make the creamiest, easiest, cheesiest cheesecake ever!
Small batch Basque cheesecake
Ingredients
- 500 g cream cheese
- 145 g white sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 250 ml heavy cream
- 35 g all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200°C
- Using a hand mixer mix the cream cheese with the sugar until dissolved, about 2 minutes
- Add the eggs one by one and mix each one in for 20 seconds
- Add the cream, salt, vanilla extract and mix together
- Sift in the flour and mix until silky and smooth
- Place a piece of buttered parchment paper in a loaf pan so it is covering the entire pan and more
- Pour the batter in the pan
- Bake for 70 minutes
- The cake will be very risen and maybe over the edges of the pan, don’t worry, it will sink
- Let it cool completely before serving
- I served it with a berry sauce, mine was homemade but feel safe to use store bought as well
