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Firm, creamy and sweet, this Vegan Burnt Basque Cheesecake is a must do dessert for cheesecake lovers and for those with a sweet tooth in general.

This is a recipe that I've only discovered recently, after sampling it in a vegan café. After that I started experimenting and reading about this different cake on the more famous American baked cheesecake New York-style or the no-bake style cheesecakes.

🌍Origin and Curiosities

In my research I've learnt that this cheesecake is a relatively new dish; it was in fact born around the '90s in the resort town of San Sebastian, Spain.

The original recipe calls for just a small handful of ingredients, such as: cream cheese, double cream, sugar, eggs, and flour.

The cheesecake is referred to as “burnt” due to its iconic rich dark surface, that forms due to its baking at higher temperature, as opposed to the American one. This high temperature caramelizes the sugars faster forming a natural dark coloured (burnt) crust for the cheesecake.

Despite the name, you do not have to worry though: it doesn't taste burnt at all. 

As you might have noticed the original recipe it is indeed not vegan friendly.

But of course in my experiments I have managed to replicate the exact texture, look and (hopefully) flavour using only plant based ingredients. I used the term hopefully because I actually never had the dairy version myself, nor do I know someone that actually knew the dessert to ask for feedback.

🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe

Vegan burnt cheesecake is a delightful dessert that's sure to impress even the most discerning palates. With its creamy texture, caramelized crust, and endless flavour possibilities, it's the perfect treat for any occasion. Whether you're hosting a dinner party or simply craving something sweet, I encourage you to give vegan burnt cheesecake a try.
Trust me, your taste buds will thank you!

The Magic of Caramelization 

One of the things that sets vegan burnt cheesecake apart is its signature caramelized top. As the cheesecake bakes, the edges darken and develop a rich, nutty flavour that's simply irresistible. I'll never forget the first time I took a bite of my homemade vegan burnt cheesecake—the creamy texture combined with the sweet, caramelized crust was pure bliss.

🗒️Ingredients and Tools

Shopping List

We are still going to use the two vegan friendly ingredients: sugar and flour.

If you want to turn this recipe completely gluten free, you can substitute the wheat flour with any starch or gluten free flour mix.

The main recipe also calls for cream. Double Cream to be precise (the one that you can easily whip). As well as per many other recipes, I remain loyal to my favourite Elmlea double (the blue one) but of course you can use any other whipping cream of your choice, soy free if you need it to be.

Then we are going to substitute the cream cheese with silken tofu. Silken tofu is so versatile that it actually makes the best substitute for cream cheese in this recipe particularly. For those that cannot eat soy-based products this Homemade Chickpea Tofu is also a great substitute!
Nut cheeses like this overnight vegan cheese I have recently shared make the cake too heavy and oily for my taste, so I do not personally recommend those (unless you are looking to make this soy free). Other store bought vegan cream cheeses can also be used instead of silken tofu.

Next up the Achille's heel for us vegans: substituting the eggs. As per my New York Style Vegan Rhubarb Cheesecake I remained, once again, loyal to Tapioca starch. This awesome ingredient works so well in cheesecakes and to firm up fillings in baked goods, so, of course this is what I've used to replace the eggs in this plant based version. It is available both in flour or pearl form (I personally prefer the flour) and you can find it pretty easily in Asian shops or online (here).

Last - but not least - we are going to need some flavourings such as Vanilla Extract and a pinch of humble Sea Salt.

Now for the actual making of this Vegan Burnt Basque Cheesecake you'll see how easy and smoothly it comes out together.

🔪 How to Make this Recipe

STEP 1 - Blend the Filling

There's no simpler instruction than just dumping all the ingredients to a blender bowl and process until super creamy and silky smooth. And yes my friends, this is exactly what we need to do here!

STEP 2 - Bake

Transfer the mixture to a 20 cm (8") round hinge mold coated in two layers of baking paper. This will make sure no spillage will happen, as the mixture will tend to rise a couple of inches during baking time. 

Bake for 1 hour (up to 75 minutes) until the cake is dark on top but still jiggles when shaken. 

STEP 3 - Waiting Time

This is probably the most important step of the process. In order for the burnt Basque cheesecake to turn perfect we must first wait for the baked cake to cool down completely to room temperature, then we have to allow at least 2 hours in the refrigerator prior to cut and indeed serving it.

STEP 4 - Serving the Cheesecake

In order to serve this beauty, we have to submerge the blade of our knife into a hot water bowl, make the cut, clean the blade with a cloth and repeat the hot water step & blade clean for all the portions we are going to serve. This will give us the most tidy and neat cheesecake slices.

Enjoy!

✍🏻Customization and Variations

One of the things I love most about vegan cooking is the ability to get creative and experiment with different flavours and ingredients. Vegan burnt cheesecake is no exception. Whether you prefer a classic vanilla flavour or something more adventurous like matcha or chocolate, the possibilities are endless.
I've even seen recipes for savoury versions too, using ingredients like pumpkin or sweet potato—talk about versatile!

🥡Storage

Basque cheesecake will last about 4-5 days stored in an air-tight container in the fridge. After this, the texture of the cheesecake may get a little watery and lumpy as it starts to break down. 
For a creamy texture, remember to take it out of the fridge at least one hour prior to eating it.

Alternatively, you can freeze it for 2-3 months.

💭FAQs

🍽️Related Recipes

• Vegan Piña Colada Cheesecake
• Rhubarb Baked Cheesecake
• Cheesecake Filled Pumpkin Pound Cake
• Chocolate Brownies and Mint Cheesecake
• Banoffee Pie
• Vegan Overnight Cream Cheese

📖Recipe

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5 from 14 votes

Vegan Burnt Basque Cheesecake

Firm, creamy and sweet, this Vegan Burnt Basque Cheesecake is a must do dessert for cheesecake lovers and for those with a sweet tooth in general.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

• Power Blender
• 8 inch Hinged Mould

Ingredients

• ▢ 600 g (21 oz) Silken Tofu
• ▢ 400 g (14 oz) Vegan Double Cream
• ▢ 250 g (1.15 cups) Sugar
• ▢ 50 g (0.3 cups) Flour
• ▢ 40 g (0.2 cups) Tapioca
• ▢ ½ tablespoon (0.5 tablespoon) Vanilla Extract
• ▢ 1 pinch Salt

8 slices

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven at 210°C (410°F).
• Add all the ingredients to a power blender bowl and blend until you reach a silky smooth consistency (you might need to scrape the sides of the blender a few times during the process).
• Coat 1 round 8-inch /20 cm hinged tray with baking paper.
• Pour the mixture in the tray, making sure to leave at least 1.5 cm / 1 inch from the top of the ring, as it will naturally rise a couple of cm over the top of the tray during baking.
• Bake for around 1 hour (up to 1:15h depending on the oven). The cake must result dark on the top but still jiggles when shaken.
• Cool down completely to room temperature in the mould; then transfer in the fridge and wait at least 2 hours before serving it.
• To serve the cheesecake make sure to have a bowl with hot water and a kitchen paper. Submerge the knife blade (better if not dented) in the hot water and make the cut. Wipe the blade clean with the cloth and repeat the hot water step & blade clean for all the portions we are going to serve. This process will make tidy and neat cheesecake slices.

Video

Notes

If you want to turn this recipe completely gluten free, you can substitute the wheat flour with any starch or gluten free flour mix.
For a soy free version use a soy free vegan cream cheese and double cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Potassium: 180mg | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 735IU | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 1mg

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