Food with passion: Decadent Chocolate Basque Cheesecake
John Paul Kennedy is a self-taught cook and an avid fan of collecting cookery books with a passion for good old-fashioned home cooking.
His passion for proper family cooking stems from his TWO Grandmothers, who were both excellent cooks, one of whom was a trained chef.
JP promises to bring us plenty of family-inspired recipes and tasty treats while showing us how to get the basics right.
If you’re looking for a dessert that feels truly indulgent but is surprisingly easy to make, this Decadent Chocolate Basque Cheesecake is it.
Rich, luxurious, and unapologetically chocolatey, this is the kind of recipe that delivers maximum impact with minimal fuss – a real treat for any occasion.
Basque cheesecakes are wonderfully unfussy by nature.
Baked hot and fast, they emerge gloriously cracked and a little rough around the edges once cooled, all part of their charm.
When adorned with softly whipped vanilla double cream and a light dusting of cocoa, though, they absolutely look the part: elegant, inviting, and impossible to resist.
This one went down an absolute storm when I made it for my sister’s birthday last weekend, and I’ve had requests for the recipe ever since, always a good sign.
Ingredients:
- 200g good quality dark chocolate melted (70% cocoa solids)
- 570g full fat cream cheese
- 130ml double cream
- 4 large eggs
- 170g castor sugar
- 20g plain flour
- 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean- paste
To decorate:
- 300ml whipped double cream
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste
- Small dusting of cocoa powder
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 220* /200* Fan /425*F/ Gas Mark 7. Butter a 20cm springform cake tin and line with two sheets of baking parchment paper crossing the pan so it’s completely covered and coming up the sides of the tin.
- Using an electric mixer beat the cream cheese and castor sugar until nice and smooth and is no longer grainy.
- Then beat the eggs in one a time giving each one a good edition to the cream cheese mixture until thick and silky. Scrape down the bowl, then beat in the cream, vanilla bean paste and sea salt.
- Pour in the slightly cooled melted dark chocolate and mix to combine. Sift in the flour and cocoa power and beat for 5 minutes. Then pour into the prepared cake tin and place on a baking tray, give it a good bang to release any air bubble and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 40 -45 minutes.
- Allow to completely cool before releasing from the cake tin. Adorn with whipped double cream and a dusty of cocoa powder, serve and enjoy!
I hope you love making (and eating) this cheesecake as much as I do.
It’s a rich, moist bake with that all important gentle wobble in the centre – exactly how a Basque cheesecake should be.
It keeps beautifully in the fridge for up to three days… not that I’d ever expect it to last that long.
Slice generously, savour every bite, and don’t be surprised if it becomes a much requested favourite.
