This Keto Burnt Basque Cheesecake is so creamy and rich, and it’s absolutely impossible to mess up. The caramelized top and sides of this low carb cheesecake are unmistakeable.
Ready to become a seriously trendy foodie? Burnt Basque Cheesecake is THE hot new dessert, and you have got to make this keto version!
And yes, it’s supposed to look like that. It’s meant to be cracked and sunken, with a deep brown outer skin. The benefit of this somewhat ugly, plain-looking cheesecake is that you really can’t mess it up.
A cheesecake that you deliberately over-beat and over-bake? That you don’t care about rising and falling and cracking? Sounds kind of crazy, doesn’t it.
But oh my heavens, it is good. Ugly food for the win!
Keto burnt basque cheesecake inspiration
Let’s be clear, you all have my husband, Tim, to thank for this keto cheesecake deliciousness. So let’s all say it together: Thank you, Tim!
He saw a write up in Portland Monthly and shoved the magazine under my nose, asking me to make it keto friendly. The article did not have a recipe, so I did some quick research online.
One look at the ingredients, and I was on board. As it has no crust, Burnt Basque Cheesecake is extremely low carb – a perfect dessert for the keto diet.
I found two conventional recipes that appealed, since they were simple in method, and both made smaller, 6-inch cakes. I took the best tips from both No Recipes and Buttermilk Pantry, while also giving it my own little sugar-free, keto twist.
How to make keto burnt basque cheesecake
Those of you who have struggled with baked cheesecakes in the past are going to love this easy recipe. You can almost do no wrong here, since it’s supposed to be browned and even a little cracked.
That doesn’t mean you don’t still have to watch it in the oven! Here are my tips for getting it right:
- You must line that pan with parchment paper. Lots of parchment, so that there is plenty of paper coming up over the sides of the pan for easy removal.
- I used both Swerve and BochaSweet for a slightly softer filling, but you can used just Swerve if you prefer. It won’t make too much of a difference.
- Blending the mixture in a food processor made it simpler, although I did find I had to constantly scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl so I didn’t end up with any cream cheese lumps. But a good blender or a mixer will work well too. You don’t have to worry about overbeating this cheesecake!
- Room temperature ingredients, always. How often do I say this? Well you should know by now, it makes for a much smoother filling.
- Jack up that temp to a blistering 450F. Most cheesecake is baked at 300F or so, but this one wants to get all browned on the top. It helps caramelize the natural sugars in the cream cheese and cream.
- Let it come to room temperature after baking, then refrigerate for a few hours for that super dense, creamy quality.
Can you make burnt basque cheesecake ahead?
This is a perfect keto cheesecake for making a day in advance, because of its unique dense quality. I honestly think I enjoyed it more the second day.
Wrap the cheesecake up tightly, and it’s good for up to 4 or 5 days in the fridge. Store any leftovers wrapped up tightly as well.
How to serve keto burnt basque cheesecake?
This is a glorious cheesecake on its own or served with a few fresh berries. I also made some of my Keto Caramel Sauce and drizzled that over a slice.
It would also be fantastic with some keto fudge sauce, or this amazing pecan praline sauce. Man, I wish I’d thought of that at the time!
Ready to make some delicious Keto Burnt Basque Cheesecake?
Also be sure to check out all the best keto cheesecake recipes here. You’re sure to find something you love!
Burnt Basque Cheesecake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (453.59 g) cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup (60.67 g) powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/3 cup (63.6 g) BochaSweet, (can do additional Swerve)
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (79.33 g) heavy cream, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tbsp coconut flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450F and line a 6-inch cake pan with parchment paper so that the parchment sticks up above the sides of the pan.
- Place the cream cheese and sweeteners in a food processor and blend until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, and blend until smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the food processor as needed.
- Add the heavy cream and vanilla and blend until smooth, then add the coconut flour and blend until combined. Again be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the food processor bowl so there are not unblended chunks.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is a rich golden brown and the center just jiggles slightly.
- Remove and let cool 1 hour, then transfer to the fridge until completely chilled, about 2 more hours.
- Remove from the pan by lifting out with the parchment edges.
Video
Nutrition
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Hi Carolyn,
The recipe calls for 1/3 cup of powdered Swerve and 1/3cup of Bocha sweet. I do not have Bocha. I have powdered Swerve. You stated that we can use additional Swerve. Is it additional powdered or granulated Swerve?
Either works!
Caroline,
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I now have an adequate low carb substitute for Junior’s cheesecake! I only had 1 bar of cream cheese so made 1/2 recipe. I added 1.5 tsp each of dried lemon & dried orange zests and baked in muffin cups with paper baking liners. 10 to 12 minutes in the oven for a muffin tin holding about 1/4 cup each, and watch CAREFULLY after the first 10 minutes. Served with blueberries & OMG! Tastes (does not look) like Lindy’s cheesecake with no crust. Each one comes to about 2/3 of one of the servings as measured , think 1/12 of the cake instead of 1/8. Because they are individual cups, still feels like a full portion????
Very good & easy!!
Hi Carolyn,
Do you think I can use erythritol as I am unable to find swerve or BochaSweet where I am. Thank you!
Yes you can use plain erythritol.
I could cook all day, but if there’s anyone who can mess up even the simplest of baking recipes, it’s me. That being said … This cheesecake was AMAZING!
And so simple that it came out great even though I baked it in the wrong size pan (6″ x 2″ deep), forgot to add the coconut flour AND burned the top!
Next time, I’ll buy a 4″ cake pan with 3″ depth. And I’ll remember to add the coconut flour (what does it bring to the party if it was so good without it?). And I’ll cut 5 minutes off the minimum bake time so that I BROWN the top instead of charring it (I use an oven thermometer to ensure that the temperature is right).
So, when Carolyn says that you just can’t mess this one up, take it from me: she knows what she’s talking about! Believe me, I tried!
Thanks, Carolyn, for all you do.
Ha, sounds like it turned out just fine! The coconut flour gives a little added structure but if it worked for you without it…
Hey Carolyn!
I have 3 6″ cake pans, and each is 2″ deep. Might that be too small? If so, what do you recommend?
Good question! You can see my final cake is not very tall but it does rise and then sink. My pans are taller than yours. But I think as long as you get the parchment paper higher than the sides, it should work. Or maybe siphon off a bit of the batter for a ramekin and bake that separately, and see how high your cake gets?
I looks great Carolyn! Thanks for linking to my recipe!
Hello,
I only have a 9 inch springform pan here. Should I double the measurements?
What you need to do is figure out the area of a 6 inch circle and then a 9 inch circle. I suspect it will be more than double.
It’s the ratio of the radii squared 😉
Area of a circle is πr2 (pretend that’s a little exponent 2)
πR2 / πr2 (where R is the radius of your bigger pan and r is the radius of your smaller pan). The π’s cancel each other out so you’re left with 4.5 squared / 3 squared = 20.25 / 9 = 2.25
So actually a nine inch pan is a pretty good size for doubling a six inch pan recipe. Yay math!
Or… you could just go to an online calculator that does all the work for you. All you have to do is enter the radius. 🙂
That’s so awesome! My math teacher daughter would do the same thing! No need for a calculator when you have a good education.
Rustically beautiful and amazingly delicious!
Hi Carolyn
Comparatively with the Buttermilk Pantry site for the Basque Burnt Cheesecake which inspired your recipe I found there is little heavy cream for the same quantity of eggs and approximatively the same quantity of cream cheese
How can you explain that?
Is it the fact of keto recipe ?
Thanks for your splendid recipes
I folow you for a long time and it’s always the same enchantment
have a nice day
I linked to two separate recipes, and as I said in the blog post, I chose the best points of both of them.
Could I use ricotta instead of cream cheese? I love cheese cake
I’m sorry but ricotta is very different than cream cheese and I doubt it would bake properly in this.
Can this be baked in an insta pot or ninja Foodi? I’m going to try it!
It’s not going to get appropriately caramelized or “burnt” in a pressure cooker.
Hi, thanks so much for this recipe.
My cake is in the oven! The batter was pretty runny though, so there was no need to ‘smooth’ anything on the top. Hope I didn’t do anything wrong…will report back.
I promised to report back – and this cake is AMAZING!
Made it twice already. Very easy to make and delicious! Highly recommend.
So glad to hear it!
Just made the cake. It’s cooling. I had to try it. Fabulous..as usual!! Carolyn you are Amazing!
Thank you for all these Gorgeous recipes. I just started keto and you are my go too!! Writing from the east coast of Canada. Stay safe ????
So glad you tried it! Enjoy… it’s rich. The recipes I was using for reference said this 6 inch cake was 6 servings. My husband and I felt that was far too much. And my husband is a big guy who loves dessert!
Could I sub allulose for the Bocha sweet?
Well … did Tim love this? Do tell!
Oh haha, I should have said! Yep, we both loved it. It’s definitely a different texture than regular cheesecake but it’s so good.
Hi!!! I’m so willing to make this!, I’m in Guadalajara, so far can’t find the swerve sweetener… What if I change it to monk fruit? ????
Do you mean a monk fruit blend, with erythritol? If so, yes!
Carolyn I have powdered bocha sweet and can you use the same amount as the granulated bocha sweet or swerve in many of your dessert recipes. And this sounds yummy I think I only have a 7″ pan so I assume I would bake it less time ? So like maybe 10 to 15 minutes less? Thank you for all you do.
Not sure of the timing but yes, it would bake for less time so keep your eye on it. I think the powdered should be fine.
Carolyn: Am I understanding this right–NO water bath? I have never made a cheesecake that is not water bath in the oven or done in an instant pot. I’m sure others are wondering as well. Please comment asap–want to make this soon! LOVE your recipes!
If I wanted you to use a water bath, I would have said so. 🙂
Please read the blog post as I think you need more understanding of what a Basque Cheesecake is all about.
Can you use a metal spring form pan with such high heat? With a metal pan would it burn to much?
Mine is a metal pan. Even if you use springform, you want to line it with parchment.
Looks fabulous! Will have to make soon. How deep a cake pan is needed?
I think mine is about 4 inches deep. This could be baked in a wider pan, and be more shallow, but it would bake quite a bit faster.
????
This is a beautiful cake. I think that it is worth investing in the 6 inch diameter pan, otherwise, your cake might look a bit like a dutch baby or a pancake.
I used a 6 inch diameter springform, lined with parchment, and about 3 1/2 inches tall, The cake itself was surprising short when it cooled, but SOO DELICIOUS! Even my non-Keto guests loved it!!
The pecan sauce is impressive too – just remember to reheat it on the stovetop before serving. I also added a bit of extra cream on the reaheat.
Magnificent!
So glad you liked it!