Easy Pistachio Basque Cheesecake Recipe

I just celebrated my birthday, and with the kids pretty much grown up, finding a night we can all be together to have dinner in between their casual jobs, school, uni and other commitments is a bit tricky. 

I was sitting down Friday night working out what day we should organise my dinner and realised that if we didn't do it that Sunday it would be a month again before we would all be together so that's how this cheesecake came to be.

My Chocolate basque cheesecake recipe (click here for link) is one of my go to easy favourites. If you make it in the morning it can actually be served that night. I decided I didn't want the lead up to my birthday to be spent rushing to put together a layer cake and I had already been thinking of changing up my cheesecake recipe to use some of the pistachio cream I had in my fridge and luckily for us it worked out perfectly.

Basque cheesecake is crazy easy to make, my recipe has 5 ingredients plus a pinch of salt and it's just about making sure everything is room temperature and mixed well at a low speed. Even lining the tin is easy just scrunch up baking paper and press it into the tin. It's the ultimate lazy dessert.

I did add an extra step by decorating around the edge with more pistachio cream and chopped pistachios. Just to make it a bit more birthday-ee. But you can totally miss that out and it will be gorgeously burnt and delicious.

I still want to make myself an actual proper layered birthday cake,  it will have to wait at least a month but that will give me enough time to come up with some fun ideas. 

Happy Baking

xx

Linda

Pistachio Basque Cheesecake - makes a 6" cheesecake which will make 6-8 snack serves. Store in fridge for up to 3 days. Can be frozen wrapped individually in plastic wrap and thawed in the fridge.

450g (16oz) cream cheese at room temperature

300g (10 1/2 oz) pistachio cream

3 eggs room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

225g (8oz) thickened cream (dollop cream) (heavy cream)

good pinch salt

Optional decoration extra pistachio cream around 1/4 cup and 1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts

Line a 6 inch wide by 3 inch high, round baking tin with baking paper. To do this crumple up the paper in your hands and then place over the baking tin and press down I used a spoon to press a line around the bottom rim and then turn the edges over the top rim.

Place cooking rack into middle of oven and preheat to 220 C Fan forced (430F).

Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature so the mixture will be silky smooth. Place into mixer bowl and mix at low speed until smooth and creamy. You do not want any lumps at this stage and also we are not trying to incorporate extra air or volume. The room temperature ingredients and slow mixing are key steps.

Scrap down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla and mix until well. Continue to scrap down the sides of the bowl until the mixture is completely combined and smooth.

Warm the pistachio cream in the microwave for about 30 seconds until it is fluid but not hot and fold in with a spatula, there should be no lumps and no streaks when you are finished.

Add the thickened cream and salt and mix well.

Pour mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 25 mins, increase temperature to 230C (450F) and cook for a further 5 mins. 

Turn oven off and allow to cool in oven with door ajar for 15mins. 

Put cheesecake into fridge for at lease 4 hours or overnight.

Prior to serving remove from tin and allow to sit at room temperature for 20 mins. If your cheesecake is stuck and you can't get it to release, it's just some of the fats set hard. Run a plastic spatula around the edge between the paper and tin and if it still won't come out pop the base into hot water for a second being careful not to splash the cake and it should easily slide out.

**Optional extra decorating step -after cheesecake is cooled in fridge, immediately on removal from fridge while still chilled.

Remove cheesecake from baking paper and spread a thin layer of pistachio cream around the sides of the cheesecake with an offset spatula or knife.

Place the chopped pistachios on a plate.

Holding the cake by the flat sides roll the pistachio cream covered edges in the chopped pistachios. They will stick to the the pistachio cream. 

Original photos and recipe from the Bubble and Sweet blog ©Linda McCubbin 2025. I love when people share my blog ideas and give credit. Please feel free to link back to my blog for non commercial purposes. Affiliated links and adds may earn me money, however all ideas and opinions are my own,

Chocolate Basque Baked Cheesecake Recipe

Growing up I lived about 50 metres down the road from a cheesecake shop (although not THAT cheesecake shop) and they would sell half cheesecakes which my mum would sometimes get us as a treat. My favourite was the baked cheesecake topped with a layer of jelly/jello set with blueberries. Oh how I loved those cheesecakes.

Actually now that I am telling you about it, I am thinking I should try and recreate it. But this story is not about my childhood cheesecake it is about chocolate Basque baked cheesecake.

About a year ago we found a dessert restaurant a few suburbs over that makes on site delicious gelato and Basque cheesecakes.  They use good quality ingredients, which I am sure of as I am a little bit of a food stalker and I peer into their stock room and check out what they use. 

But alas for me (although happily for them) they seem to be very busy and every time we go now they are devastatingly out of my favourite chocolate Basque cheesecake.

Luckily baking is what I do so I decided to make my own and now I have cheesecake when ever I want and my only problem is that I eat way too much cheesecake. As a solution I have been making smaller cakes and the recipe below is for a 6" cake which is a lovely size if you have just a few people to serve. 

(note the cheesecake in these pictures is only 4" 

because I am trying to eat less cheesecake)

Basque cheesecake differs from regular baked cheesecake as it is has no biscuit base and is cooked at a high temperature which results in a dark top and creamy centre. It is important to cool the cheesecake for enough time for the middle to set, at least 4 hours for this recipe but preferably overnight.

Happy Baking

xx

Linda 

Chocolate Basque Cheesecake - makes a 6" cheesecake which will make 6-8 snack serves. I like to serve mine with cherries which is a lovely contrast to the velvety chocolate cheesecake. I use a good quality chocolate like Callebaut. Cheesecake slices can frozen wrapped individually in plastic wrap and thawed in the fridge.

450g (16oz) cream cheese at room temperature

200g (7 oz) dark chocolate melted

100g (3 1/2 oz) caster/ superfine sugar (use regular granulated sugar if that's all you have)

10g (4 tablespoons) cocoa sifted

3 eggs room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

225g (8oz) thickened cream (dollop cream) (heavy cream)

good pinch salt

Line a 6 inch wide by 3 inch high, round baking tin with baking paper. To do this crumple up the paper in your hands and then place over the baking tin and press down I used a spoon to press a line around the bottom rim and then turn the edges over the top rim.

Place cooking rack into middle of oven and preheat to 220 C Fan forced (430F).

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe dish. I melted mine for 2 mins at 60%, stirred and then another 2 mins. Alternatively if you only have high setting heat for 20sec intervals stirring between each burst and being careful not to overheat. Set aside until needed.

Sift together the caster sugar and cocoa to ensure there are no lumps.

Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature so the mixture will be silky smooth. Place into mixer bowl and mix at low speed until smooth and creamy. You do not want any lumps at this stage and also we are not trying to incorporate extra air or volume. The room temperature ingredients and slow mixing are key steps.

Scrap down the sides of the bowl add the caster sugar and cocoa and mix at slow speed. Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla and mix until well. Continue to scrap down the sides of the bowl until the mixture is completely combined and smooth.

Add the melted dark chocolate and fold in with a spatula, there should be no lumps and no streaks when you are finished.

Add the thickened cream and salt and mix well.

Pour mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 25 mins, increase temperature to 230C (450F) and cook for a further 5 mins. 

Turn oven off and allow to cool in oven with door ajar for 15mins. 

Put cheesecake into fridge for at lease 4 hours or overnight.

Prior to serving remove from tin and allow to sit at room temperature for 20 mins. If your cheesecake is stuck and you can't get it to release, it's just some of the fats set hard. Run a plastic spatula around the edge between the paper and tin and if it still won't come out pop the base into hot water for a second being careful not to splash the cake and it should easily slide out.