A life in food
In San Sebastián in late winter 2016, we wandered through the cobbled streets of Donostia. Late in the afternoon, we stopped at a pasteleria for coffee and something sweet. I chose a slice of cheesecake, its centre as soft as syllabub, its crust scorched. A cheesecake with no pastry or crumb crust to support its curds and no berries through the deep, vanilla-scented custard. A cake that wobbled mousse-like on the fork. Back at home, I set about making a similar Basque-style cheesecake. It took six attempts to perfect the wobble and char.
A BASQUE-STYLE CHEESECAKE
650g full-fat cream cheese
220g caster sugar zest of 1 lemon
½ tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs, plus an extra yolk
250ml double cream
150ml soured cream
30g cornflour a generous pinch sea salt
Set the oven at 220°C. Line the inside of a
