Basque burnt cheesecake

What makes it basque burnt cheesecake

• No base — just the filling, in crumpled baking paper.
• A fierce oven, so the outside caramelises dark.
• Soft, almost runny at the centre.

Where it comes from

It comes from La Viña, a bar in San Sebastián's old town, where Santiago Rivera began baking it around 1990. It was made to be simple: cream cheese, sugar, eggs, cream and a little flour, poured into a tin lined with crumpled paper.

For years it was a local treat. In the late 2010s it spread around the world, and 'Basque cheesecake' became a style of its own.