The Secret to Spain’s Famous Cheesecakes

Basque cheesecake photo credit Kezia Lynn

It was around 2018 when I first ordered a slice of cheesecake in Spain. I was in Seville, where I live, at a restaurant serving classic tapas with a modern take. The cheesecake came browned on top and crustless. It was served warm. It was barely cooked in the center, almost molten-like. It was undeniably delicious.

My next encounter was soon after with a Basque friend, who brought me a slice she had made in her tiny countertop oven. While also crustless and browned, it had a savory element that balanced out the sugar. Her secret was folding in idiazábal, a smoky aged cheese native to the Basque Country. Read about idiazábal and more great Spanish cheeses you should know.

The Origin of the Basque Cheesecake

La Viña Bakery cheesecake photo credit Jojo Yuen

While there are various theories, most agree the recent proliferation of cheesecakes in Spain can be traced back to La Viña in San Sebastian around 1992, a restaurant that continues to feed hundreds of crustless cakes with a toasty burnt top to their hungry guests, along with a traditional Basque menu. In 2018, American author Marti Buckley described this cheesecake with an accompanying recipe in her cookbook Basque Country, calling it the most famous cheesecake in all of Europe: “Somewhere between a New York cheesecake and a flan, La Viña cheesecake sets the gold standard in Basque Country. Part of this dessert’s joy is its abundance. Tall, creamy, and downright sinful, the combination of five simple ingredients is ethereal. This cake needs no crust— the parts of the cake in contact with the pan brown faster, forming a natural crust that transitions gradually into the creamiest of cheese custards.” Later in 2020, the New York Times named this style of cheesecake, the “burnt Basque cheesecake,” as one of the top food trends for the year 2021.

The Popularity of Basque Cheesecake Today

Fast forward to 2024 and the cheesecake is everywhere in Spain. It’s rare to find a restaurant without one on the menu, be it a casual cafe, a traditional tapas bar, or an upscale fine dining establishment. It makes an appearance at every other birthday party, even wedding receptions. There are stores around the country solely dedicated to selling cheesecakes; lines snake out their doors as patrons leave with decorated boxes packed with gooey slices or miniature single-serving desserts.

Jesús Delgado, chef of the high-end restaurant Sr. Cangrejo in Seville, is one the few people in town who doesn’t have it on his menu but recognizes most of his chef friends do. “It’s a safe bet,” he says. “They know they will sell it no matter what.” He chalks up the trend to social media, “With its creaminess and the oozing center, it’s a very Instagrammable dessert.”

Jon García, who owns one of the most popular cheesecake spots in the country, JonCake, also believes social media has a lot to do with it and with over 100k followers on Instagram, he should know. “It’s a very photogenic dessert” he notes and mentions the restaurant Fismuler in Madrid as one of the epicenters of the digital trend that went viral, with their gooey golden slices. For García, the pandemic was another huge factor in launching such a craze. “Everyone made a cheesecake during the pandemic because it utilizes so few ingredients,” he says. He mentions La Viña’s was the most replicated because it’s foolproof. If you underbake it or overbake it, it’s still good.

Savory Cheeses Are In

While there is certainly a spread of donut-topped and Oreo-flavored sugar bombs blowing up Spain’s cheesecake social media channels, other chefs like García focus more on harnessing national ingredients and, much like my Basque friend, they’re looking to the country’s best cheeses. García credits the cheese-forward invention to another Basque restaurant, the now shuttered Zuberoa, that served a cheesecake made with Roquefort and idiazábal. Bruce Springsteen famously visited in 2009 and dubbed it the best cheesecake he had ever eaten.

Since opening his first shop in Barcelona in 2021, García estimates he has made cheesecakes utilizing over 400 varieties of cheeses. He and his team try out a couple different styles every week, highlighting practically every regional cheese in Spain with a denomination of origin (D.O.) designation, working with small Spanish artisan makers, and exposing the country to other lesser known European varieties like Norwegian and Polish. “For us, the cheese is the protagonist,” says García. He sees cheesecake as an approachable way for people to try different cheeses. Even his “classic” cheesecake is made with four different styles, along with cream cheese: Parmigiano Reggiano, grana padano, gorgonzola, and mascarpone. Today, Jon Cake sells over 200 cheesecakes a day from its two locations. The second store, Jon Cake & Wine, is all about pairing cheesecakes with wines.

Iñaki Decaceres is on a similar path with his various shops called Mr. Cheesecakes in southern Spain. I tasted cheesecakes made with a piquant blue variety called cabrales, along with another featuring a local Payoyo goat cheese. His list of over 50 cheesecakes and counting also includes Cheddar and an aged sheep’s milk cheese with quince paste. He’s even gone beyond cheese and experimented with a jamón cheesecake, and another as an ode to his flagship store on the coast in Sanlucar de Barrameda, which is made with dry sherry wine and prawns. “It’s all about balance,” he says.

Is it barbaric to bake artisan European cheese into an industrialized American spread? It seems most of Spain would say no. And if you’re willing to wait in line for it, you’ll probably agree.