I’ve been making these mini Oreo cheesecakes for over a decade now whenever I need a quick and easy treat for a gathering. And when it comes to cheesecake recipes, it doesn’t get much easier, cuter and tastier than this. ♡

My favorite thing about this mini cheesecake recipe is that there’s no need to spend time crumbling, mixing, and pressing down a fancy crust. Simply pop an Oreo in the bottom of each baking cup and you’re good to go! The vanilla cheesecake batter here is also quick and easy to mix with 5 basic ingredients. Then simply bake for about 15 minutes, chill, top with whipped cream and an extra Oreo for garnish, and enjoy, enjoy.

These mini Oreo cheesecakes are the perfect make-ahead dessert for dinner parties, game days, or anytime you’re craving a sweet treat. And while I love making this recipe with classic Oreos, feel free to experiment with whatever Oreo flavors you love best.

Let’s make some Oreo cheesecakes!

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Basque “burnt” cheesecake definitely seems to be having its moment in the sun trending around the world right now. But here in Spain, it has been a local fave for decades! ♡

Barclay and I finally got to try the real-deal, original, famous tarta de queso that inspired them all last year during a weekend getaway to San Sebastián. We arrived in the city with a deliciously long list of recommended places to sample the various pintxos, txuletas, anchovies, cheeses, and wines for which this gastronomic capital of the world has become so famous. But when it came to recommendations for where to try the Basque country’s iconic cheesecake, everyone agreed there was one spot we absolutely had to go — La Viña.

This cozy local restaurant is credited with inventing Basque cheesecake back in the 90s, when chef-owner Santiago Rivera was looking for a new dessert to put on the menu. By contrast to American-style cheesecakes that tend to be dense, firm, evenly-baked with (hopefully) zero cracks, and made with some type of cookie crust, Chef Rivera tweaked all of the proportions to create his own new style of Basque cheesecake that is uniquely airy and creamy, baked crustless in crisp parchment paper, rippling around the edges with beautiful cracks, and — famously — made with a deliciously “burnt” (more like caramelized) exterior.

It’s a stunning cheesecake that breaks all of the rules and is outrageously delicious. And best of all for home cooks, it’s insanely easy (arguably foolproof) to make with just a simple list of ingredients! Chef Rivera generously shared his original tarta de queso recipe with the world years ago, which simply calls for cream cheese, eggs, sugar, flour and heavy cream. But he encourages home cooks to put their own spin on the recipe as they see fit. “If you want salt, add salt; if you want vanilla, add vanilla; some people add lemon zest.” And if you really want to be authentic, you can serve your cheesecake as they do at La Viña with a small glass of Spanish sherry on the side.

All of our friends here in Spain are major fans of this cheesecake, so we’ve had fun over time tasting different versions and tinkering around with the original recipe here at home to serve for various parties and gatherings. So for anyone interested, here’s our favorite slightly-tweaked spin on Chef Rivera’s tarta de queso recipe. We do, in fact, like to add vanilla and sea salt in our casa. But as he said, feel free to experiment and have fun making the recipe your own! The rules are meant to be broken here, which I must say is a fun change when it comes to usually-perfectionistic cheesecake making.

Let’s make some Basque cheesecake!

Basque Cheesecake Recipe | 1-Minute Video

“Burnt” Basque Cheesecake Ingredients:

Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few notes about the ingredients you will need to make this Basque cheesecake recipe. I have adjusted Chef Rivera’s recipe down slightly to fit an 8- or 9-inch springform pan, since that is mainly what I use in my kitchen. (If you have a 10-inch springform pan, however, that will work too — it will just need less baking time and will yield a thinner cheesecake.)

• Cream cheese: It always makes me smile that this is always referred to here in Spain simply as “Philadelphia.” ;)  I recommend using regular (full-fat) cream cheese for optimal flavor and texture.
• Sugar: I follow Chef Rivera’s lead and use basic white granulated sugar as the sweetener.
• Eggs: Basque cheesecake is famously a bit more eggy, which some people love more than others. I prefer a slightly less eggy cheesecake, so I’ve reduced the amount of eggs in this recipe to five.
• Vanilla extract: This is optional, but I always love the flavor that it adds to cheesecake.
• Heavy cream: No skimping on the fat here either. You’ll need to use heavy whipping cream (not half and half or whole milk) to achieve the right texture of these cheesecake. (If you are located here in Spain, be sure to buy nata de montar, not the nata de cocinar.)
• Sea salt: I like to add a little to the cheesecake itself, as well as sprinkle some flaky sea salt on the slices when serving. (Please note that if you are using iodized table salt, you should use half as much salt.)
• Flour: Finally, I like to add a little extra flour in there to really help the cheesecake rise up in the oven.

Tips for Making “Burnt” Basque Cheesecake:

Here are a few important tips I’ve learned over time for how to make Basque cheesecake:

• Use room temperature ingredients: It really does help to yield a smooth and evenly-baked cheesecake, so plan ahead. (Or there are a number of shortcut methods you can read about online to carefully and quickly warm the cream cheese, eggs and heavy cream.)
• Use the correct pan: Because the cheesecake batter poofs up and rises so high during baking, it’s essential that you use a pan with tall sides. (Otherwise, the batter may spill out if you just use a 1-inch tall round cake pan.)  I recommend using an 9-inch springform pan. Or if you slightly alter the baking time, you could alternately use an 8-inch or 10-inch springform pan.
• Sift the flour: If you want the cheesecake to be nice and smooth, it really helps to sift the flour (I do so using a fine-mesh strainer) into the batter instead of just dumping it in.
• Don’t overmix the batter: It’s easy to accidentally whip a bunch of air into cheesecake batter if the ingredients are mixed too long or at too high a speed. In general, you want to mix in each ingredient until just incorporated, then move onto the next one as directed.
• Skip the water bath: Another great thing about this cheesecake is that there is no water bath needed. The cake is intended to rise, fall, and create lots of beautiful ridges and rustic cracks. I just recommend baking it on a sheet pan in case a bit of the batter accidentally spills over the edge of the pan as the cheesecake rises.
• Keep an eye on the top of the cheesecake: Different ovens will inevitably brown cheesecakes at slightly different rates. So I recommend keeping a close eye on the cheesecake during the final 15-20 minutes of baking to be sure that the top reaches your desired level of golden color. If it starts to get too dark, just gently lay a piece of aluminum foil over the cheesecake. Or if it’s not dark enough, switch the oven to broil the cheesecake ever-so-briefly once the center is cooked to your liking. (Just be careful, broiling will darken the cheesecake very quickly!)
• Choose your desired consistency: Most of the Basque cheesecakes I’ve tried here in Spain are still slightly soft and creamy in the middle, which means that the center of the cheesecake will need to still be fairly jiggly when you pull it from the oven. But that said, feel free to bake yours longer if you prefer a more firmly-set cheesecake. Or you can bake it for even less time if you prefer the center to be extra soft and creamy.
• No te preocupes (don’t worry!) about perfection: The whole point of a Basque cheesecake is that it’s meant to look rustic and a bit uneven, so don’t stress about the batter being perfectly even or the parchment being perfectly pressed into the edges of the pan. It will taste amazing however it looks!

Basque Cheesecake Recipe Variations:

As mentioned above, feel free to tinker around with the ingredient amounts in this recipe to create a Basque cheesecake that is more creamy, sweet, eggy, or cheesy, if you prefer. Or you could also…

• Make it gluten-free: Just use a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour.
• Add citrus zest: Lemon or orange zest would be a delicious addition to this cheesecake batter.
• Add bourbon: We’ve also made this recipe with bourbon — swapping 3 tablespoons of heavy cream for 3 tablespoons whiskey — and can vouch that it is another very delicious option.
• Bake it for more/less time: I like the cheesecake to still be soft and a bit creamy in the center, but feel free to bake yours for less time if you like an even softer/creamier cheesecake or more time if you prefer a firmer/fully-cooked cheesecake. And if the top isn’t brown enough, you can very briefly turn the oven to broil to caramelize the top. (Just keep a very close eye on it, as the top will darken rapidly!)  Or alternately, if the top seems too brown, just gently place a sheet of foil on top of the cheesecake as it finishes baking.
• Add a topping: Basque cheesecake is typically served plain, but some type of fruit sauce, caramel sauce, or chocolate sauce on top would also be delicious!

More Favorite Cheesecake Recipes:

Looking for more delicious cheesecake recipes to try? Here are a few of my faves!

• Samoa Cheesecake
• Strawberry Nutella Cheesecake
• Lighter Blueberry Cheesecake
• Chocolate Almond Cheesecake

Basque Cheesecake (Tarta de Queso)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 20 reviews

• Author: Ali
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 60 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
• Yield: 12 servings 1x

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Description

This “Burnt” Basque Cheesecake recipe is ultra-creamy and delicious and so easy to make that it’s nearly foolproof!

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Ingredients

• 2 pounds full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups white granulated sugar
• 5 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt* (plus optional flaky sea salt for topping)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

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Instructions

1. Prep oven and springform pan. Heat oven to 400°F.  Line a 9-inch springform pan with two large crisscrossed sheets of parchment paper, pleating and pressing the parchment into the bottom edges of pan so that it extends straight up (not folded down) a few inches above the sides of the pan.  Place the pan on a large baking sheet and set aside.
2. Make the batter. Add the cream cheese and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl and use a handheld mixer (or a stand mixer) to beat the mixture on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until it is very smooth with no lumps remaining, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium-low speed until each egg is combined before adding in the next. Add the cream, vanilla extract, salt and mix on low speed until evenly combined.  Then sprinkle the flour evenly over the batter (it helps to sift it through a fine-mesh strainer to prevent lumps) and mix on low speed until evenly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Bake. Pour the mixture into the parchment-lined pan.  Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top of the cheesecake has risen up high, the top is a deep golden brown, and the center is still slightly jiggly.  (Keep a close eye on it — if the top starts to get too browned or starts to burn, just gently lay a sheet of aluminum foil on top of the cheesecake until it has finished cooking.)
4. Cool. Transfer the cheesecake to a wire baking rack and let it cool completely to room temperature.  (You can also cover and refrigerate the cheesecake at this point for up to 3 days if you prefer.)
5. Serve. Once the cheesecake is no longer warm, remove the sides of the springform pan, peel back the parchment, and cut your desired size of slices.  Then serve, sprinkled with a pinch of flaky sea salt if you’d like, and enjoy!

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Equipment

9-Inch Springform Pan

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Parchment Paper

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Vanilla Extract

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Notes

Salt: If you instead plan to use iodized table salt, reduce the amount of salt by half.

Pan options: You can also bake this recipe in an 8-inch springform pan (baking time will need to be a bit longer and the cheesecake will be thicker) or a 10-inch springform pan (baking time will be less and the cheesecake will be thinner).

Source: Recipe slightly adapted from La Viña and Bon Appetit.

The older I get, the more I realize I want to become like my mom.

Growing up, this was not so much the case. As with many oldest daughters, I’m pretty sure the refrain of my teenaged years that I just wanted to be independent! Do it my way! Figure it out myself, thankyouverymuch!

But of course, as the years pass, I have come to realize that I’m the spitting image of my mom — both inside and out. And that she’s actually one of the coolest people I know. And that I’d love to “grow up” to be more and more like her.

Why?

Well first off, let it be noted that my mom is a total badass when it comes to business. As a female entrepreneur who’s been out on my own for 3 years, I see it as no small accomplishment that my mom has persevered as a small business owner in the creative space for basically her entire career. (Fun fact — I’m known in the needlework world by my middle nickname “Kate”, which half of the namesake of Mom’s successful cross-stitch design business, Lizzie*Kate, that basically put me through college and still supports our family today.)  Mom is super talented as a designer, she works very hard, she cares deeply about her customers, and yet she still knows when to clock out for the day and spend time with her friends and family.

On that note? It’s also no secret where I inherited my love of cooking and entertaining. I have talked countless times on here before about how Mom was the one who had a well-balanced meal on the table pretty much every night growing up, even while working hard on said businesses above, plus cookie dough and Chex mix on hand for whenever we wanted a snack or friends stopped by. She, of course, made this look effortless and my sister and I took her amazing food for granted until reality (finally) sunk in with our college cafeterias about how good we had it. Today, she’s still the go-to hostess with her friends, and will whip up a bowl of chili and toss a huge green salad and mix a batch of cookies whenever friends are invited over for anything from an impromptu grill-out to a church girls night to any day their beloved K-State ‘cats have a game.

Also cool? Her commitment to eating well and working out, her commitment to travel, her sense of style, her green thumb (which I decidedly did not, and never will, inherit), her bookishness, her sharp intellect, her faith, her spunk. But the older I get, I’ve decided that I most want to learn how to be a giver like my Mom. She is probably the only person on earth I know who doesn’t think twice — not twice — about regularly giving huge portions of her time and energy and resources to helping others. Whether that be the various groups she volunteers with around town, helping out her own mother and friends when they have health complications, or even popping up to Kansas City for a day to sous-chef and help her single daughter out with house projects — when she senses a need, Mom will be there in a heartbeat. And she’s a pro at getting things done. And she doesn’t ask for anything in return. Pretty inspiring.

Yeah, it would be an honor to become more like my Mom.

Anyway, my Mom also happens to have been the #1 fan of this blog since my very first post and reads it every morning, so — hi, Mom!  She’s a mega fan of all things chocolate. So I whipped up a Chocolate Almond Cheesecake and brought it down to Wichita to share with her yesterday for Mother’s Day. I know, two chocolate posts in a row here on the blog (what?!). But since chocolate happens to be Mom’s favorite food group, I figured it was only appropriate. :)

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What sort of gifts make you really excited nowadays?

I have to be honest — the older I get, the less excited I get about gifts that include more “stuff”.

Ten years ago, things were different. I was graduating college with basically a laptop and a car and a twin bed comforter to my name. So Christmases and birthdays were very exciting occasions to when basic necessities like cookware and a desk lamp and a power tools set (often used, thankyouverymuch) would come into my life.

But nowadays? The basic necessities have (gratefully) been all covered. And I have actually been intentionally downsizing ever since selling my house a few years ago. So when it comes to gift giving, my family has been simplifying there as well and trying to focus more on building traditions and spending time together rather than exchanging more “stuff”, which is awesome.

Still, I have parents who are some of the most generous, selfless, giving people I know. And they have learned over the years that the one gift I never refuse is help around the house. Ooooooh, I love me some help around the house. When I actually owned a house-house, they would graciously drive 3 hours to Kansas City for long weekends of extensive yardwork (my least favorite part of homeownership) and usually (re)painting some random room in the house. But now that I’m living the downtown loft life, there are no gardens to weed or walls to paint. So instead, they pretty regularly come up and offer my new favorite gift: help in the kitchen.

Which. Is. Awesome.

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Samoa vs. Caramel DeLites.

Tagalongs vs. Peanut Butter Patties.

Trefoils vs. Shortbread.

Girl Scouts of America, why do you need to make the names of your cookies so confusing?? Yes, I know it’s all about the different bakeries that bake for different regions of the country. But I feel like life (and food blogging) would be much simpler if we could all unite around a common cookie name.

Case in point:

I served this fabulous cheesecake a few weeks ago to my parents and a bunch of friends. But when I told them it was a Samoa cheesecake, every single one of them looked at me blankly. Granted, that didn’t stop them from diving in with a fork stat. But once I told them it was a Caramel DeLite cheesecake, the lightbulb suddenly went off. And then the stories began to flow as we all swapped stories about knocking on doors and using our best 7-year-old sales strategies to try and sell All Of The Cookies. And then now, of course, we happily support those little 7-year-olds selling boxes by eating All Of The Cookies.

Anyway, whatever you call this cheesecake, my friends said to pass on word to the blogosphere that it definitely earned a badge of approval. ;)

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This post goes out to all of you lovebirds for Valentine’s Day.

But it especially goes out to all of you single lovebirds — just as lovable, if you ask me — this Valentine’s Day. I made this recipe for you. :)  And with nearly half of the U.S. adult population being single nowadays, there are apparently a lot of you!!

That’s kind of a wild thought, isn’t it? Almost half of the adults you’ll cross paths with this Valentine’s Day are not married, and (at least statistically speaking) most of those are not sharing the holiday with a “special someone”. So what’s a single person to do on Valentine’s Day? Well, as a single girl, I have a few ideas.

For starters, I think that making a batch of this lighter no-bake cheesecake should be at the top of your list. It’s crazy delicious, made healthier with Greek yogurt and light cream cheese, and you can make it in nice little individual portions that are perfect for one or sharing with your friends. (I will be sharing it with mine!)

But more than that, I vote that your day — and everyone’s Valentine’s Day — be filled with a ridiculous amount of love.

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There are a few recipes amongst our friends that are legendary.

Amy’s lavender cheesecake would be one of them.

It all began at book club a few months ago when we were reading Death Comes To Pemberly, a fan fiction sequel to Pride and Prejudice. (Which — for all of you curious Austen fans out there — unfortunately it didn’t receive quite the positive thumb vote from the group as we all had hoped. But it’s arguably still worth the read if you love the Darcy’s and murder mysteries.)

Being that our monthly book club gourmet spread of food and wine receives just as much time and attention as the books we read, you’d better believe that everyone perked up when they heard that Amy had brought along a cheesecake to share. Or more accurately, that Amy had “just whipped up” a cheesecake to share. Yes, Amy is one of those people who doesn’t blink an eye at hopping halfway around the world to serve in the Peace Corps or creating a new cheesecake recipe from scratch. NBD, people.

It turns out that this wasn’t just any ol’ cheesecake. Amy let us know that it was a fresh lavender cheesecake. But to make it extra “English”, she had steeped some tea bags in heavy cream to make a delightful earl grey whipped cream topping. And then she had tossed some actual earl grey tea leaves in the cheesecake itself. As Darcy might say, and as we instantly all agreed, this cheesecake was brilliant.

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Ok, I may be a professional food blogger. But lest I forget, this does not mean that I am a professional chef.

I was reminded of the fact this week on my first attempt at this blueberry cheesecake recipe. I had been planning for weeks to try this fancy tall graham cracker crust, topped with a thick layer of blueberry filling. It seemed like a spectacular plan in my mind. So I gathered the ingredients, made a super tall crust, par-baked it, and then poured some glorious cream cheesy filling into the center. Let me tell you — it looked great!

So I left it alone as it baked, and returned an hour later to behold my masterpiece. But when I glanced in the oven, all I could see were graham cracker crumbs. Lots, and lots, and lots of graham cracker crumbs — in all the wrong places.

Not quite the look I was going for.

It turns out that apparently graham cracker crusts and warm baked cheesecakes don’t mix well. Or maybe the problem is that they mix too well. When the cheesecake poofed up during baking, it basically took the crust back with it on its way down. I also decided to pass on actually immersing the pan in a water bath, and had opted to just set the pan of water below, which also led to some extra poofing.

This once again proves my theory that you learn an important lesson each time you bake a cheesecake. I at least do!

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Earlier this week, I hosted a little birthday gathering for a beautiful friend who recently moved to England but is back home (yay for us!) for a few weeks. And when I asked her what might “happen” to be one of her favorite desserts, she responded that she always loves cheesecakes, but then also really loves peanut butter and chocolate. So I decided to bring together the best of both worlds and make these Reese’s mini cheesecakes!

It was also a chance to use a new little kitchen purchase that I finally caved in to buy — this mini cheesecake pan. Sure, you can make little cheesecakes in mini baking cups, but I had long admired the sleek vertical lines of this pan, so may have squealed in delight just a tad when I finally purchased one of my own.

But I was even more excited when the birthday girl and my friends gave these little cheesecakes rave reviews. And then my Hallmark coworkers promptly finished off the leftovers and an additional batch of them today in a flash. The feedback was unanimous — everyone loved them! They are definitely on the decadent side, filled with the rich peanut butter cheesecake and topped with a simple dark chocolate ganache. So trust that even one “mini” cheesecake is more than enough for a single serving. But if your family and friends are like mine, they will happily do the hard work of polishing them off. ;)

Also, if you don’t have a mini cheesecake pan, you can make these in regular-sized or mini-baking cups, or the recipe will translate to an 8-inch springform pan. However you make these little Reese’s cheesecakes, I hope you enjoy them!

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What does one bring to a rockin’ Cinco de Awesome fiesta thrown by a bunch of foodie friends?

But of course, a super-awesome strawberry cheesecake…

…kicked up a notch.

Si, amigos. This strawberry margarita cheesecake is filled with all of the fresh strawberry and lime goodness of your favorite drinks, a salty pretzel crust, plus the tequila and Grand Marnier to make it a par-tay. And then I had a little too much fun playing with my food to make it extra pretty. (Which was actually super-easy — you should try it!)

Most importantly, I think the cheesecake lived up to the party name, as person after person gave it the “awesome” seal of approval. Would definitely recommend giving it a try next Cinco de Mayo. Or Diez de Julio. Or Treinta de Febrero. Or….whenever in the world margarita cheesecake craving strikes.

As my Costa Rican host family’s parrot would say (of course, in between his renditions of Madonna songs and hurling expletives at the family beagle), this one is definitely “muy rrrrrrrrico”. Agreed.

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