The Basque burnt cheesecake is a crustless cheesecake baked at very high heat in a parchment-lined tin until the top caramelises black, the centre still soft and jiggly, with a creamy lemon-sharp interior and a slightly bitter caramelised crust.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Santiago Rivera invented the tarta de queso vasca at La Vina on Calle 31 de Agosto in 1990, while finishing his culinary training. The recipe blasts a 2-kilogram batter of full-fat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, cream and a small amount of flour in a 220C oven for 50 minutes until the top blackens and the centre remains soft. The dish stayed local until 2019, when the New York Times named it flavour of the year and the recipe travelled to cafes from Tokyo to New York under the name Basque burnt cheesecake or San Sebastian cheesecake. La Vina alone produces over 100 cakes daily; Otaegui in the Old Town and Geltoki in Amara now also sell wedges of their own versions.
Common allergens: Eggs, Dairy, Gluten
Tip from the editors. The oven must be at the top of its range; if your oven runs cool, raise to 230C. The interior should still be soft, almost custardy, when you cut it; carry-over cooking firms it slightly as it cools.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
La Vina on Calle 31 de Agosto in San Sebastian sells the burnt Basque cheesecake wedge from the counter under 5 euros, the city's most famous dessert without the sit-down bill.
Try: Tarta de queso wedge
Tip: Wedge to take away or eat standing. Closed Mondays.
Pasteleria Otaegui's original branch on Narrika in San Sebastian's Old Town has run a counter of Basque pastries since 1886, the pantxineta cream-puff and the tarta de queso as house bakes.
Tip: The pantxineta is the household name; eat the wedge or take a tin home. Several branches across the city.
Worth the queue: Pantxineta (cream-and-puff pastry)
Pasteleria Geltoki on Easo in San Sebastian's Amara is a working Basque bakery-cafe with a long counter of sourdough, croissants and small viennoiserie, the locals' morning loaf stop.
Tip: The bread queue is long by 09:00. Get a coffee with a Basque pastry at the back counter.
Worth the queue: Sourdough loaves and croissants
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