Best Basque Burnt Cheesecakes in Sydney

This lockdown, we've been making DIY burgers like there's no tomorrow, sourdough is our ride-or-die isolation bread (although Japanese shokupan is nipping at its heels) and we're still dutifully ordering creative takeaway from our local restaurants, cafes and bars.

But Basque burnt cheesecake – all caramelised and glossy on the outside, wobbly and custardy on the inside – is the breakout cake. For the uninitiated, it’s less sweet than its North American relative, the New York cheesecake, and also lacks a biscuit-y base. That makes it dangerous in the best possible way: it’s easy to hoover up one of these things in no time at all. Here are our favourites.

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Best Cakes in Sydney

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Updated on 17 September 2021

Restaurant

Sixpenny

Stanmore’s elegant fine diner has upheld its reputation for fine things during not one but two Sydney lockdowns, flipping into a lockdown bakery to beat all others. Naturally, a Basque burnt cheesecake appears in its weekly offering of standout sweets.

Cafe

Humble Bakery

There’s a hint of Latin fire in everything Porteno does, so it comes as no surprise to us that its humble little bakery turns out a note-perfect Basque burnt cheesecake. Bit of fun: this cake uses a cream cheese and Meredith Goat's Cheese blend. And you can order it ahead, too.

Bar

Continental Deli, Bar & Bistro

A Basque burnt cheesecake has been on the menu here since the very beginning. And it’s just as good as it’s ever been.

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Cafe

Don't Doughnuts

We’re so glad someone’s doing this: sourdough-brioche doughnuts piped with Basque-burnt cheesecake filling, then dipped in sugar and torched to an amber glaze. Incredible stuff.

Restaurant

Dimitri's Pizzeria

Dimitri’s has quietly been one of the best pizzerias in the inner city for some time. And for dessert on the takeaway menu, it takes advantage of the woodfired pizza oven to give its Basque burnt cheesecake a welcome lick of cherry-wood smoke.

Cafe

Baked by Keiran

We’ve yet to really see something that Baked by Keiran can’t bake well (or bake and burn, in this case). The BBC is everything you could ask for: all the blistered char on the outside, with a sweet, refreshing centre.

Cafe

KOI Dessert Kitchen Ryde

Koi’s cakes look like works of art. Not one to follow tradition either, its Basque burnt cheescake goes a bit off-piste with a blanket of black truffle shavings on top. Order for pick-up or delivery here.

Online-Only Cheesecakes and More Options

La Lune
If you need any indication of how popular the Basque burnt cheesecake has become, look no further than La Lune. It’s the only item you can get at this online-only (for now) bakery, and it comes in three flavours: original, matcha and Nutella.

Black Cream
A flashy delivery business that knows how to burn a good cheesecake, Basque-style. These ones are baked to order in small quantities, cooled and delivered the very next day. The mini Basque cheesecakes are the real selling point here: muffin-sized cheesecakes that you can polish off on your own.

15 Centimetres
Conceived by an ex-Bills chef during Sydney’s first lockdown, this Japanese cheesecake delivery service is now a full-time operation, whipping up hundreds of cakes a week. Its take on the classic Basque cake comprises a lighter-than-usual filling and a striking caramelised top.

Master Baker
Yet another proponent of the truffle-topped BBC. This Villawood cheesecake hustle trades on a first come, first served basis via Instagram. Once its half- and full-sized cakes are gone, they’re gone.

In Lieu by Ben Treloar
Until gun pâtissier Ben Treloar can get in the kitchen at Oncore – Crown Sydney’s long-awaited fine diner by Northern Irish chef Clare Smyth – he’s selling pastry boxes on Instagram. Excellent ones. Think petits fours (or fives) with an anything-goes spirit. You might see a slice of Basque burnt cheesecake show up in the weekly rotation.

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