Honey Ricotta Basque Cheesecake

This cheesecake is made with 6 simple ingredients:

• Ricotta
• Cream cheese
• Cream containing around 35% fat content (Whipping cream in the UK, heavy cream in the US)
• Honey
• Eggs
• Plain or All-Purpose flour

… and a pinch of salt!

The flavour of the cheesecake comes purely from the ingredients it’s made of, given that there are no additional flavourings added to it like vanilla. For this reason, I would recommend buying high-quality ingredients where possible – the ricotta, the honey and the eggs particularly would be worth the trouble if you can afford it!

The history of Basque cheesecake + the inspiration

The now wildly famous Basque cheesecake originated in the 1990’s in País Vasco, in the North of Spain. El Bar La Viña developed this cheesecake known for its deeply caramelised top, rough edges and gloriously creamy centre. The simplicity of this cheesecake made with only a few ingredients and lacking a crust allows the tangy milkiness of the cheese and cream to shine through. It is not overly sweet either, which makes the cheesecake lighter than one would think.

La Viña’s Basque cheesecake has been recreated all over the world, although some have added their own spin to it. Chef and restauranteur Frank Camorra occasionally serves the famous cheesecake in his MoVida restaurant in Australia, recreating the original recipe with sheep’s milk curd. Chef Alex Raij made her own version with goat’s milk cheese.

My version uses ricotta in addition to the cream cheese, adding complexity of flavour to the cheesecake. If you can find different types of ricotta at your local shop, opt for firm ricotta. Either way, make sure you drain your ricotta for an hour prior to making the cheesecake to ensure your batter isn’t overly watery! The sugar in the original recipe is completely replaced with honey in my iteration. The honey not only beautifully complements and contributes to the creaminess of Basque cheesecake, but it also adds floral notes that pair perfectly with the milky flavour of ricotta.

This recipe was originally created for my undergraduate creative project ‘Ancient Baking for Modern Palates’. I developed a series of recipes for baked goods inspired by ancient Graeco-Roman recipes, flavours and ingredients. Fresh, soft cheeses and honey were greatly enjoyed by Mediterranean communities at the time. In addition to the cheesecake, I made a honey semolina cake, fig jam thumbprint cookies, apricot feta hand pies and ‘sweetmeat’ biscotti – stay tuned for the rest of these recipes! I will be sharing them throughout the summer.

Recipe.

Yield: 1 7" cheesecake.

Prep time: 15 mins.
Cook time: 30-40 mins.

Total time: 2h to 2.5h hours, including cooling time.

• 350g full fat cream cheese, room temperature.
• 150g drained ricotta, room temperature.*
• 215g honey.
• 3 large eggs, room temperature.
• 200ml whipping or heavy cream, room temperature.
• 50g flour.

1. Place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 220ºC/200ºC fan or 400°F.
2. Lightly grease a 7" round springform tin and line it with a big sheet of baking paper, making sure peeks over the sides of the pan once it covers the bottom of the tin. The baking paper will pleat and crease at the edges - this is what we want!
3. Whisk the cream cheese and the drained ricotta in a big bowl until smooth and creamy. Add in the honey and mix well until combined.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating them until well incorporated and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl before adding the next.
5. Add the cream and whisk until well blended.
6. Sift the flour and carefully mix it in until combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are well incorporated. Don't overmix! Stop mixing once the batter is smooth.
7. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200ºC/180ºC fan or 360°F. Bake until the cheesecake is deeply browned on top, slightly set around the edges and wobbly in the centre, around 20-30 minutes.
8. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the cheesecake cool down inside for 30 mins. Take it out of the oven and let it cool completely on the counter before serving. Drizzle some honey on top before serving.

* Remember to buy at least 300g of ricotta to make sure you have enough for the cheesecake, as it will weigh less once drained of some of its water content. Place in a cheesecloth or clean tea towel, wring it out until you can't squeeze any more water out of it and leave to drain on a sieve for at least 1 hour.

The cheesecake will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Hope you enjoy this honey ricotta Basque cheesecake! Let me know how it goes if you try it in the comments below.