Basque Cheesecake

A crustless cheesecake baked at a ferocious heat in a tin lined with crumpled paper until the top is burnt almost black and the centre is still liquid: the tarta de queso of La Viña, a pintxo bar in San Sebastián's old town, has become the Basque cheesecake served from Tokyo to New York, and it inverts everything the New York version stands for. Santiago Rivera developed it at La Viña in the early 1990s, reportedly from a decade of adjusting a classic recipe, and the bar still bakes dozens a day and cuts them at the counter. The appeal is the contrast: a bitter caramelised crust, a wobbly, custardy middle, and a flavour that is mostly cream cheese and sugar with a salt edge. There is no base, no water bath and no fruit, and it is served at room temperature in thick wedges, often with a glass of sherry or Pedro Ximénez.