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–+ servings
A slice of earl grey basque cheesecake on a floral plate.

Earl Grey Basque Cheesecake

Author: Gail Ng
Fragrant earl grey cheesecake with a perfectly scorched and caramelized exterior and ultra creamy interior
4.34 from 3 votes
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Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield 8 slices
Category Dessert
Cuisine Spanish

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g whipping cream or heavy cream
  • 7 earl grey tea bags, reserve 1 for later
  • 750 g cream cheese, softened to room temperature (about 3 bricks)
  • 225 g granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 6 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Prep: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line an 8" round cake pan with a large sheet of parchment paper, creasing the paper to fit around the sides. Leave about 1-2" of excess parchment paper sticking straight up above the pan, trimming any longer pieces down with scissors. Set aside.
    Left: hands pressing parchment paper into a cake pan. Right: trimming excess parchment paper with scissors.
  • Steep cream: In a small pot, add the whipping cream and 6 earl grey tea bags. Cover and bring it to a simmer on the stovetop. Turn off the heat and let the tea steep for 10 minutes. Use a spatula or a gloved hand to squeeze all the liquid out of the tea bags before discarding them. Let the steeped cream cool at room temperature while you prepare the next steps.
    Left: tea bags in a pot of whipping cream. Right: squeezing steeped cream out of tea bags in a pot with a spatula.
  • Beat cream cheese: In a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, sugar, and salt. Use an electric hand mixer to beat the cream cheese mixture until it becomes very creamy and smooth.
    Left: cream cheese blocks and sugar in a mixing bowl. Right: mixing cream cheese with a hand mixer.
  • Mix in eggs: Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in between each addition, until the batter becomes thick but fluid and very smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract with the last egg.
    Left: an egg cracked into a bowl of cheesecake batter. Right: mixing cheesecake batter with a hand mixer.
  • Add tea mixture: Pour in 270g of the steeped cream. If you end up with less than 270g, top it up to that amount with some extra whipping cream. Cut open your last earl grey tea bag and add the loose tea leaves to the batter. Mix until well combined.
    Left: pouring earl grey cream into a bowl of cheesecake batter. Right: mixing earl grey cheesecake batter with a hand mixer.
  • Fill pan: Pour the batter into your lined pan, filling it almost all the way to the top of the pan (if your pan is 2" tall).
    Left: pouring cheesecake batter into a lined pan. Right: a lined pan filled with batter.
  • Bake: Bake cheesecake for about 45-50 minutes until the top is browned and the cheesecake is still very jiggly when shaken. If the top isn't sufficiently browned by 40 minutes, turn on the broiler for the last 3-5 minutes of baking to give it more colour. Watch it for the entire time the broiler is on as it will burn very quickly!
    Left: a basque cheesecake immediately after taking it out of the oven. Right: hand peeling back parchment paper around a cooled basque cheesecake.
  • Let cool: Let the cheesecake cool completely before lifting it out of the pan. Run your knife under hot water before slicing for clean cuts.

Notes

  • Earl grey cream: We're starting with 400g of cream and end up with about 270g after steeping from evaporation and the tea leaves soaking it up. If any of the tea bags broke during steeping, you can choose to pour the cream through a sieve to ensure you measure out exactly 270g.
  • Storage: This cheesecake can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Be careful not to let any condensation drip onto the cake from the container lid or plastic wrap as it will create slightly lighter spots on the surface if not wiped off right away.

Nutrition

Calories: 655kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 54g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 274mg | Sodium: 500mg | Potassium: 218mg | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 2172IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 143mg | Iron: 1mg
Keywords earl grey basque cheesecake, earl grey burnt basque cheesecake, earl grey cheesecake, earl grey san sebastian cheesecake
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