This Chocolate Basque cheesecake is creamy, rich, chocolatey and oh-so-delicious! It’s delivers a deep chocolate flavour that’s enhanced by adding a teaspoon of instant coffee and cocoa powder. It then gets baked for only 20-25 minutes – depending how creamy and mousse-like you prefer it but will then need to chill for 4 hours or overnight. The less time in the fridge, the softer it’ll be. A signature San Sebastian Basque Cheesecake has a burnt top, which with the deep chocolate interior, is a match made in Spanish heaven.
The original San Sebastian Basque Cheesecake, which has no chocolate, originated from La Viña, a cafe in the resort coastal town of San Sebastian in the Basque region of Spain. In 1990, Chef Santiago Rivera embarked on an experiment to make a new type of cake every day. Eventually, he developed the Basque cheesecake recipe. Here’s an insightful article if you’re keen to know more: CNTraveller
Obviously we need a chocolate version of absolutely everything so the latest trend was to chocolate-a-fy this beauty and now we have a delicious chocolate version as well.
overview
preparation
All the Chocolate Basque cheesecake ingredients should be at room temperature before starting. This’ll ensure a smooth even texture throughout the whole cheesecake. It’s important to invest in high quality ingredients as this will deliver the best results, especially the chocolate. Chocolate brands similar to Callebaut and Lindt would be best. You will also need to line a 15-20cm springform cake pan with baking paper.
time:
Assembling the Chocolate Basque cheesecake will take about 15 minutes. It then needs to bake for 20-25mins (if you’re using a 20cm springform pan. A baking tin smaller than 20cm would need to bake for the full 25 minutes no less and your baking paper will need to surpass the baking tins height by half at least as the cheesecake rises quite a bit and then deflate as it chills. I prefer to chill the cheesecake for 4 hours and then serve. If it’s extra jiggly then I’d let it chill overnight.
storage:
If stored in an airtight container, the Chocolate Basque cheesecake will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can easily section the cake and freeze the remaining slices for up to 6 months. This is actually a favourite of mine. It’s like eating chocolate mousse ice cream – divine!
perfect for:
Anyone who loves chocolate, chocolate mousse, deep chocolate flavours, or desserts that aren’t too sweet. You can serve this Chocolate Basque cheesecake with fresh berries, ice cream or whipped cream.
Chocolate Basque Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 250 ml heavy cream
- 220 grams 60-70% dark chocolate
- 500 grams full fat cream cheese room temperature
- 3 large eggs
- 100 grams caster sugar
- 15 grams cocoa powder
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 240℃ / 464℉.
- Line a 15cm or 20cm loose bottom or springform cake tin with baking paper and cooking spray. I cut the baking paper into a circle for the base and then I cut a long thick strip to line the circumference of the baking tin. Make sure the baking paper surpasses the edge of the baking tin by half as the cheesecake rises quite a bit.
- Add the cream to a medium bowl and heat in the microwave until warm. Add the roughly chopped chocolate and mix until the chocolate has fully melted. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Whisk the 3 eggs together and add to the cream cheese mixture. Beat until well combined. Add the sugar and beat again until smooth and creamy.
- Add instant coffee, cocoa powder and salt. Beat until fully combined.
- Pour in the slightly cooled but melted chocolate and until fully combined. Gently pour the Basque mixture in to your prepared baking tin.
- Bake on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest until it reaches room temperature. The cheesecake will be VERY jiggle and "undercooked" but that how you achieve that mousse like filling. Once cooled, allow the cheesecake to chill in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight. Note: the longer it chills the less "mousse-like" the filling will be.
Video
Notes
- Cream Cheese: pop the cream cheese in the microwave for a minute if you want to soften it up without waiting.
- Chocolate: you want the chocolate flavour to pop through so using high quality chocolate that's higher in cocoa powder will deliver that deep chocolate flavour that you're looking for.
- Instant Coffee: adding instant coffee is optional but, again, you won't really taste the coffee, it's only added to enhance the chocolatey flavour. You could naturally replace the instant coffee with decaf coffee.