Take a kitchen journey to the beautiful Basque country with this creamy, decadent Basque Burnt Cheesecake featuring a cherry rioja sauce. The cheesecake recipe is adapted from the original La Viña Cheesecake recipe featured in the "Basque Country" cookbook by Marti Buckley.
1cuprioja wineYou can use other red wines for this recipe, but rioja is more traditional in Basque culture.
⅓cupgranulated sugar
½tsp.ground cinnamon
½tbsp.corn starch
⅓cuphot water
Instructions
Basque Burnt Cheesecake AKA La Viña Cheesecake - Adapted from Basque Country by Marti Buckley
Preheat oven to 400°F/200° C. Grease a 10-inch springform pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving 2-3 inches overhanging the top of the pan.
In a large bowl using a hand mixer or in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Add the salt and mix.
Incorporate the eggs one at a time and mix until fully incorporated.
Whisk in the cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
Sift the flour into the mixture and fold it in gently using a spatula.
Pour the batter into prepared springform pan.
Bake for 50 minutes, or until it is browned and almost burned-looking on top. The center will still be quite jiggly, but the cake is ready. Remove from the oven and cool.
Cherry Rioja Sauce
While the cheesecake is baking in the oven, begin the cherry rioja sauce.
In a saucepan over medium high heat, combine cherries, rioja, sugar, and cinnamon.
Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce to a simmer over medium low heat. Use a spoon to gently crush some of the cherries.
In a measuring cup or a bowl, dissolve corn starch into hot water, making a "slurry." Add the slurry to the saucepan.
Simmer sauce on medium low heat for 15-20 minutes, until it is reduced by about a third. Remove from the heat and cool.
Serve the Cheesecake
Gently remove the springform and peel the parchment paper away from the cheesecake. Cut slices and serve on a plate with cherry rioja sauce drizzled on top. Enjoy!