Now, in almost every second restaurant and cafe in Moscow (and not only), San Sebastian cheesecake appears among the desserts – and the guests are completely satisfied with it. The Fashion Vibes decided to find out why it was so good, why it was loved and where to try it. And also – how to cook it yourself!
Cheesecake San Sebastian – what is it about?
San Sebastian cheesecake or Basque cheesecake is the Spanish version of a dessert popular all over the world. Unlike usual, it does not have a dough crust: it consists entirely of cheese cream. It has a caramelized, slightly burnt crust and a very soft, half-baked filling.
This version of cheesecake appeared in 1990. It was invented by chef Santiago Rivera at the La Vina restaurant in the city of San Sebastian in the Spanish region of the Basque Country. He wanted to make the dessert more airy and less dense than usual. Made from Spanish cream cheese, similar to Philadelphia but 40% saltier. Burnt cheesecake became very popular all over the world – and people are still queuing for it at that cafe in San Sebastian.
Love for Basque cheesecake in Russia took place relatively recently – especially actively last year. And surprisingly: it came to us not from Spain, but from Turkey, where it is found in almost every cafe. Tourists tasted it, and then “bred” it to Russia.
Why is Basque cheesecake so popular?
First, it’s really delicate, has a really silky texture, and is much lighter than a regular cheesecake.
Second, more salt in the cream cheese gives the dessert extra volume in flavor.
And third, apparently the real reason is in that very burnt crust. It caramelizes during very high temperature cooking and when milk protein (cream cheese) combines with sugar, the same “umami taste” is created – a natural flavor enhancer.
Where to try San Sebastian cheesecake?
We share a list of places where you should go to “eat cheesecake” in Moscow.
quilt
Capito chef Alexander Arkhipov introduced San Sebastian cheesecake to the menu in 2019. She conquered the chef with the purity of taste – sweet, but with complex notes of salted caramel. Restaurant guests agree with him: They love this dessert, too!
Address: 3rd street. Yamskogo Polya, 2, bldg. 12
Bureau.TSUM
The restaurant also added San Sebastian cheesecake to its menu as one of the first. Pastry chef Yulia Posazhennikova says: “Before Basque cheesecake, there was a classic cheesecake with rosé sorbet on the menu. The guests admired him, they simply took him. But it’s time to update the menu and offer guests something new, it was summer 2020, immediately after the quarantine Basque cheesecake began to gain popularity in foreign restaurants. At Buro.TSUM, we were among the first to put burnt cheesecake on the dessert list in Moscow. It has a super delicate soft texture, but that burnt crust gives it an unusual taste. We serve it in raspberry puree sauce with cream and fresh fruits.”
Address: st. Petrovka, 2
buffet 1936
The coffee and wine bar buffet 1936 loves unexpected combinations, so Basque cheesecake is served here with Greek yogurt, sesame paste, and lemon zest. This allows you to combine all aspects of taste in one dessert: sweetness, tenderness, bitterness and sourness.
Address: Chistoprudny Boulevard, 12, building 4
semper
Here, the classic version of San Sebastian/salted caramel cheesecake is covered in malto-textured snow.
Address: B. Dmitrovka, 22, building 1
AQ Kitchen
AQ Kitchen added extra flavor to its traditional Basque cheesecake with lemon curd, lavender chips and fresh mulberry.
Address: B. Gruzinskaya, 69
in the crowd
The cafe prepares its own version of the famous dessert. Basque cheesecake is made with lots of bourbon, vanilla and lemon zest and served with cherry puree. It turns out a tender, juicy, creamy and very bright dessert.
Address: emb. Academician Tupolev, 15, room 26
concert
Gigi Restaurant serves vanilla cheesecake with ryazhenka ice cream and seasonal fruit. Filled with bourbon vanilla and sticky homemade salted caramel, and strawberries are the perfect accompaniment!
Address: st. M. Dmitrovka, 3
Mina
In an Italian-Lebanese restaurant, a delicate cheesecake is made from goat cheese and served with fresh fruit – now with blueberries, for example.
Address: st. M. Nikitskaya, 16/5
Lilac pastry
Here you can try something between a traditional cheesecake and San Sebastian – a dessert with a Basque cheesecake base and short pastry. The brand confectioner of the restaurant holding gt. Aleksey Bartashov says, “Guests who have not tried this cheesecake before are afraid of the dark crust on it, but in the original, the crust of this cheesecake was completely burned. We burned the crust less so that its appearance reflects the sweetness of the dessert.” He also shares an interesting version of why the crust of the Basque cheesecake burns: “One version of the creation story says that the pastry chef worked as a fireman, but he followed his longing for the world of confectionery all his life. After a while, he finally decided to quit his job and become a confectioner. And he decided to make this dessert as a sign that he was working as a firefighter: a burnt cheesecake and a fluffy inside.
Address: st. Sretenka, 22/1, building 1
How to make San Sebastian Cheesecake
If you want to make this dessert yourself, here is the Basque cheesecake recipe from Ilya Eleftheriadi, chef of Sochi restaurant Nashtile.
Basque cheesecake with Abkhaz lemon
Contents:
800 g cream cheese
300 g sour cream 25%,
100 g mascarpone cheese,
6 g vanilla extract,
250 g cream 33%,
5 eggs
8 yolks,
240 g of powdered sugar.
Cooking method:
Heat the cream cheese in a water bath. Then mix all the ingredients and beat with a blender until smooth. Put the resulting mass on a baking sheet.
Bake the cheesecake at 210 degrees for 30 minutes. Every 10 minutes, turn on the oven for a few seconds to let the cake set. The top crust should be brown.
Remove from oven and cool, then refrigerate overnight before serving. Basque cheesecake is ready!
Source: People Talk
I’m Roger Gritton, and I’ve been writing for the The Fashion Vibes for over 5 years now. My specialty is beauty news; I’m passionate about covering the latest trends, products, and innovations in the industry. In my time there, I’ve become known as an authority on all things beauty-related.
I love discovering new experts to interview, researching up-and-coming ingredients and techniques that are making their way onto our beauty shelves and highlighting people who are making a difference in the world of cosmetics. My work has appeared not only on The Fashion Vibes, but also several other publications including the New York Times Magazine, Allure Magazine and Refinery29.
