History

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

Make it at home

Yield 10Hands-on 20 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1kg full-fat cream cheese (Philadelphia-style), at room temperature
  • 400g caster sugar
  • 7 large eggs
  • 500ml double cream
  • 30g plain flour, sifted
  • Pinch of sea salt

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan). Line a 23cm springform tin with two layers of baking parchment, pressed roughly so the parchment rises 5cm above the rim.
  2. Beat the cream cheese with the sugar in a stand mixer on medium until smooth (3 minutes).
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing fully between each addition.
  4. Pour in the cream slowly with the mixer running; add the salt.
  5. Sift the flour over the top and fold in gently by hand until just combined; do not overmix.
  6. Pour the batter into the lined tin. Bake on the middle shelf for 50 minutes; the top should be deeply blackened and the centre still wobbly.
  7. Cool in the tin for 2 hours; the cake will deflate slightly. Remove from the tin and serve at room temperature, with a glass of Pedro Ximenez.

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.

Where to eat tarta de queso vasca (basque burnt cheesecake)

Tarta de queso vasca (Basque burnt cheesecake) in San Sebastián

Pasteleria Otaegui ★ 4.6

Bakery€Mon-Sat 09:00-20:00, Sun 09:00-14:00Walk-in onlyTraditional Basque pastries since 1886

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.

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)

Narrika Kalea 15, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian

Pasteleria Geltoki ★ 4.3

Bakery€Mon-Sat 07:30-20:30, closed SundaysWalk-in onlyWorking bakery with sourdough and viennoiserie

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.

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

Easo Kalea 61, 20006 Donostia-San Sebastian

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