Basque Cheesecake Bars

After reading reviews about burnt crust, I simply skipped the parbaking step and put the whole thing in at 500. Crust was still burnt and that took away from the taste of the cheesecake filling for me. I also used foil rather than parchment which worked fine for lifting it out of the pan.

Followed instructions as written and ended up with a burnt mess. Crust was ruined and the top was mostly black instead of a nice dark caramel brown. Ended up cutting of the crust and sides when it cooled to try and salvage all those ingredients. Not sure if the crust should be pre-baked for less time or maybe the metal pan I used was not right. Disappointing nevertheless.

Does anyone have a Passover-friendly crust recipe that can be used here? Many thanks.

I just made this and it is taking longer than expected. It isn't that brown, but I don't want to over cook it. I hope it taste good.

Just baked this following the instructions, and I agree with other comments: it smells burned (not of caramel) and the top has nowhere near the uniform caramel color (26 minutes at 500F), just browned around the edges. The top has a couple of cracks. There are better recipes out there.

I absolutely love the Barques Burnt cheesecake I have made previously. I have baked a full size one and quite a few 6 inch ones in an air fryer. This one was good but not my favorite. It sure did not look like the photo but everyone except me loved the crust. I like the crust less version but am addicted to any of these versions.

Agree with a lot of other comments about the crust. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out burnt on the bottom. I'd bake it less the first time or freeze it before adding the batter. I'd also add the vanilla extract and flour separately as they clump together when added at the same time. Otherwise, it came out great!

Two modifications that I made, based on comments: 1) Didn't prebake the crust (to avoid burnt crust). Came out great. 2) Used sour cream instead of heavy cream (to avoid issues with the center not setting). Worked great. Does add some tang to the flavor, which I actually prefer in a cheesecake.

I didn’t have access to graham crackers so I used Biscoff and it was an excellent substitution. In fact, Im going to use Biscoff with future cheesecakes to see how it turns out.

Top did not brown except for sides. Crust was well done using 12 minutes plus baking time for cheesecake. Consider baking crust 8-10 min instead. Cheesecake was tasty.

The parchment paper burnt in the oven from the high heat. It crumbled when I tried to lift it out. I had to take some cardboard and flip the cake out of the pan instead. Also, I absolutely had to refrigerate it so the middle could settle some more. The cheesecake was way too soft to handle chilling it first. Regardless, it came out just like the picture and it was delicious. Will be making it again.

Reporting on a couple successful changes I made, for inspiration for others. 1) Subbed crushed almond cookies (amaretti from Italy that are very dry). 2) Subbed Gina Marie Fresh Farmer Cheese (half the fat of their cream cheese, but cultured with a lovely tang). 3) Added lemon zest to the batter. 4) Make sure every ingredient was room temperature, including the cream; 5) incorporate air in the batter, well-mixed wet ingredients; 6) place the pan on a high rack to prevent burnt bottom.

This is delicious! I would cook the crust a little bit less next time, but it was not quite burned. I sifted the flour, but there were still tiny lumps in the batter, so I also poured the batter through a sieve on its way to the pan.

Great recipe, but unless you’re hosting a dinner party for ten, this strikes me as an excessive amount to make. I halved the recipe and cooked it in an 8x8 pan, which worked perfectly with the exact same baking time. The texture was lovely after baking and cooling, ie at room temperature, almost as light as a soufflé, with a satisfying caramel skin to break through. However, it was much more similar to a NY cheesecake texture after 24 hours of being in the fridge.