Basque Burnt Cheescake

Burnt baseless cheesecake with liquorice sauce.

Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

For the cheesecake

• 600g full-fat cream cheese – at room temperature
• 175g caster sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 300ml sour cream, at room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 25g cornflour

For the sauce

• 15g hard pure liquorice pellets
• 90g caster sugar
• 300ml water
• Pinch of fine sea salt

To serve

• Blackberries – or any other berries
• Lightly whipped cream (not heavy)

Method

• Heat oven to 200°C/180°C Fan.
• Line tin with two strips of greaseproof paper – extra long – creases and all. Weigh it down until ready to use.
• With K-mixer – beat cream cheese and sugar until light and smooth – minimum 2 minutes.
• Beat in the eggs – one at a time – then beat in the sour cream.
• Slow beating down – beat in the salt and cornflour – one teaspoon at a time. Remove from mixer and give final stir with spatula.
• Pour into lined tin, rap tin hard on the counter a couple of times to remove bubbles.
• Bake for 50 minutes until bronze on top. It will be soft set and still jiggly. It will continue cooking while cooling.
• Place tin on wire rack and leave to cool – it will sink slightly (at least 3 hours). Don’t put in the fridge for more than 30 minutes.

For the sauce

• Put liquorice pastilles and 300ml water in a small saucepan.
• Stir in the sugar and put on lowish heat until liquorice has all but dissolved – stirring occasionally.
• Turn up the heat and reduce by half – don’t let it boil over – around 20 minutes.
• Stir in the salt, pour in a heat-proof jug and let the syrup cool.

To serve

• Lift the cheesecake out using the paper, put on a plate and peel the paper back.
• Serve slices with berries on the side and liquorice syrup drizzled of the top (very little! you can add more later)
• Cut into 12 slices, not 8!!! Its delicious, but rich. Serve with a small amount of lightly whipped cream.

To store

• Refrigerate cheesecake – covered – for 3 days
• Refrigerate syrup – covered – for 3 months
• Freeze cheesecake for 1 month, syrup for 6 months.
• Defrost overnight in the fridge.

This should look rustic!