Chocolate Burnt Basque Cheesecake

Everyone loves a cheesecake, and this Basque burnt style with dark chocolate is a cinch to make. It’s suitably decadent for a winter dinner party, without being overly rich.

Prep:
10 minutes
Cook:
20-25 minutes
Serves:
Makes one 22cm cake

Ingredients

200g dark chocolate, chopped

500g cream cheese

150g caster sugar

3 eggs

250ml Lewis Road Creamery Organic Single Cream

1 Tbsp cocoa powder, plus extra for garnishing

2 Tbsp flour

A pinch of salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 230°C.

Line a 22cm cake tin with a couple of lengths of baking paper, ensuring that the paper extends at least 5cm above the rim.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of boiling water, or in the microwave in 20 second bursts, stirring in between, until melted, smooth, and glossy. Set aside.

In a blender, mix the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, until each one is well incorporated. Put the mix into a bowl and fold through the slightly cooled chocolate.

Whisk together the cream, cocoa, flour, and salt until smooth. Fold through the cream cheese mix. Pour the mix into the prepared tin and place in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes until dark on the top, puffed up, and slightly wobbly in the middle.

Remove from the oven - it will collapse slightly. Leave to cool for 15 minutes, then put into the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight, to set properly. Bring to room temperature before serving. We dusted ours with a little cocoa powder to serve.

This is delicious with Augustine’s Black Doris Plums in Pinot Noir Syrup.