Ube basque cheesecake is smooth, creamy and packed with the ube flavor you love. With its characteristic burnt exterior and a luxurious ube filling, it’s perfect for all your celebrations!
(Are you a fan of basque or burnt cheesecakes? Try bibingka cheesecake. It’s unlike any bibingka you’ve ever had before.)
Ube cheesecake is one of my most requested recipes ever and I love making it for my family and friends.
So once I learned how to make basque-style cheesecakes, it was only a matter of time before I made an ube version.
And wow. Lemme tell you, this ube basque cheesecake is exceptional.
Easy to make, not as finicky as regular cheesecake, and absolutely delicious.
Let’s get to it.
Why you’ll love making this pinoy cheesecake recipe
If you’re already a fan of my ube halaya cheesecake, get ready to add another recipe to your list of must-try ube desserts to make. This basque burnt ube cheesecake is:
- Easy to make. It’s less finicky to make than traditional cheesecakes; no water bath and no worrying about cracks.
- Creamy and delicious. But it’s creamier and so delicious! It also has a nice hint of smokey flavor from the burnt exterior.
- Feeds a crowd. A little goes a long way so this cake is perfect to serve during the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve), on Easter, or any celebration. (Ube tarts and ube cheesecake bars are crowd favorites too.)
- Perfectly purple! Have you seen that vibrant, happy purple color? It’s meant to be the most wonderful end to any meal.
How to make
Like I mentioned, unlike other cheesecake recipes, we won’t need a water bath here. We also don’t need to worry about cracking. The more rustic it looks, the better!
Ingredients
You’ll need the usual cheesecake ingredients like all-purpose flour, sugar and eggs. A few things to note:
- Cream cheese — you’ll need cream cheese available in blocks, not in tubs (i.e., spreadable). And for best results, use full fat.
- Heavy cream — ideally, you’ll want to use cream that has a milk fat content of at least 36%. However, I’ve made this recipe with whipping cream (35%) when I couldn’t find heavy cream and that works well, too.
- Ube extract — this is where all the ube flavor comes from. You can find it at Asian supermarkets and in Amazon. I always use the McCormick brand.
Tools
You’ll need a 10-inch springform pan and an electric mixer (handheld or stand mixer) for the smoothest mixture.
Note that this recipe makes a lot of batter so if you have a small stand mixer like I do, watch carefully so that the batter doesn’t splatter all over your kitchen or overflow.
Step-by-step photos
Preheat oven to 400F. Line a 10-inch springform pan with 2 overlapping sheets of parchment paper, making sure the parchment comes up to at least 2 inches above the sides of the pan (the cheesecake will rise during baking).
In large bowl using a handheld electric mixer or using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and sugar on low-medium speed until very smooth (3-4 minutes).
Remember to scrape the sides and bottom of your bowl.
Increase speed to medium and add eggs one at a time.
Ensure each addition is well blended before adding the next (15-20 seconds between additions). Again, remember to scrape your bowl.
Reduce your mixer speed to medium-low then add heavy cream, salt, and ube extract.
Beat until combined (about a minute).
Sift flour over cream cheese mixture. Beat on low speed until incorporated (15-20 seconds).
After scraping your bowl for any flour that might be stuck on the sides or bottom, continue to beat until your cheesecake batter is very smooth, homogenous, and silky (10-15 seconds).
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes or until the sides are set but the middle is still jiggly.
Increase oven temperature to 500F and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until you get that nice burnt exterior.
Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly in the pan (the cheesecake will deflate as it cools), before removing from pan to cool completely.
Expert baking tips
Easy and straightforward, right? Here are more tips for perfect ube basque cheesecake every time.
- Start with room temperature ingredients. This ensures a smooth cheesecake batter.
- Add eggs 1 at a time and beat for about 15 seconds or just until blended. Avoid over beating the batter because you don’t want to incorporate too much air into it.
- Line pan adequately. Since this cheesecake has no crust, you’ll need to make sure you line your pan completely so that the batter has no chance to leak. The cheesecake will also rise so ensure your parchment paper comes up at least 2 inches from the edges of the pan.
- Scrape your bowl. Scraping your bowl is important to ensure you don’t leave streaks of flour in your batter. They will show up as white specks in your purple cheesecake once it’s baked.
- Do not over-bake. The center of the cheesecake is not supposed to firm up. If your cheesecake still looks pale after the recommended bake time, better to broil on high for about a minute to get that burnt look, while still maintaining that jiggly center.
Recipe FAQs
A Basque cheesecake (or a burnt cheesecake) has a burnt and caramelized exterior and a rich and creamy interior. It originated from La Viña in Spain’s Basque Country, thus the name.
And unlike traditional cheesecakes, a Basque cheesecake doesn’t have a crust.
Unlike regular cheesecakes, we’re not baking our ube basque cheesecake until it’s fully set.
All we’re looking for is for the sides to set but the center to remain wobbly and jiggly. This is key to a creamy interior.
It will continue to cook in the pan as it cools.
Basque ube cheesecake can be made up to 2 days ahead. Cover and chill in the fridge.
Best served at room temperature but also delicious chilled.
Cheesecakes are usually baked in a springform pan to make them easier to release.
If you don’t have one, you can use a regular, same-sized cake pan and just lift the parchment up to release the cake. Do this carefully because basque cheesecakes are soft and fragile.
More cheesecake recipes
Love baking cheesecakes as much as I do? Check these out:
Happy baking!
Did you make this ube basque cheesecake recipe? I’d love to hear all about it! Leave a comment or a star rating below. You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to see your creations!
You can also find me on Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube.
Ube Basque Cheesecake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 8-oz blocks cream cheese room temperature
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 6 pieces large eggs room temperature
- 2¾ cups heavy cream can substitute with whipped cream, room temperature
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tsp ube extract
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Line a 10-inch springform pan with 2 overlapping sheets of parchment paper, making sure the parchment comes up to at least 2 inches above the sides of the pan (the cheesecake will rise while baking).
- In large bowl using a handheld electric mixer or using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and sugar on low-medium speed until very smooth and no lumps remain (2-3 minutes). Remember to scrape the sides and bottom of your bowl (see note).4 8-oz blocks cream cheese, 1½ cups granulated sugar
- Increase speed to medium and add eggs one at a time, ensuring each addition is well blended before adding the next (15-20 seconds between additions). Again, remember to scrape your bowl.6 pieces large eggs
- Reduce your mixer speed to medium-low then add heavy cream, salt, and ube extract. Beat until combined (about a minute).2¾ cups heavy cream, 1 tsp salt, 4 tsp ube extract
- Sift flour over cream cheese mixture using a fine-mesh sieve.⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- Beat on low speed until incorporated (15-20 seconds).
- After scraping your bowl for any flour that might be stuck on the sides or bottom, continue to beat until your cheesecake batter is very smooth, homogenous, and silky (10-15 seconds).
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until the sides are set.
- Increase oven temperature to 500F and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until you get that nice burnt exterior (see note).
- Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly in the pan (the cheesecake will deflate as it cools), before removing from pan.
- Once completely cool, carefully peel away parchment from the sides of the cake, slice and serve.
Video
Notes
- Yield depends on how big or small you slice your cheesecake. This is a very rich cake and a little goes a long way. The estimated nutrition information is based on 12 servings.
- You’ll need to find ways to make your parchment paper fit your round pan i.e. fold it in places. This means it won’t lie flat so you won’t end up with a clean, smooth outer edge to your cheesecake. This is perfectly fine. Basque cheesecakes are supposed to look rustic!
- This recipe makes a lot of batter so if you have a small stand mixer like I do, watch carefully so that the batter doesn’t splatter all over your kitchen or overflow.
- Scraping your bowl is important to ensure you don’t leave streaks of flour in your batter. They will show up as white specks in your purple cheesecake once it’s baked.
- If your cheesecake still looks pale after the recommended bake time, try broiling it on high for 1-2 minutes. Watch it carefully though because you want a burnt look, not burned cheesecake.
- See post for more tips, FAQs and step-by-step photos.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
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