Chefs' Recipes

Frank Camorra's tarta de queso (cheesecake)

Australian Gourmet Traveller Spanish dessert recipe for tarta de queso (Cheesecake) by Frank Camorra from Melbourne restaurant MoVida.

By Frank Camorra & Richard Cornish
  • 10 mins preparation
  • 45 mins cooking
  • Serves 8
  • Print
    Print
Frank Camorra: Tarta de queso (Cheesecake)
"I don't have much of a sweet tooth so it took a friend of mine I just happened to bump into in San Sebastián one night to put me on to the local cheesecake. It is cooked in a hot oven, so the outside has a well-developed caramelised skin that goes from golden to brown to black - don't be alarmed as it's all part of the act. It is so lovely that when I finished testing this version I ended up eating nearly half of it. And yes, Spanish chefs do use Philadelphia cream cheese."

Ingredients

  • For greasing: butter
  • For dusting: plain flour
  • 500 ml (2 cups) pouring cream
  • 155 gm caster sugar
  • 300 gm cream cheese, softened
  • 5 eggs
  • 180 gm goat's curd
  • 125 gm (½ cup) thick plain yoghurt
  • 2 lemons, finely grated rind only
  • 1 lemon, juice only
  • 40 ml brandy
  • 2 tbsp pure icing sugar

Method

Main
  • 1
    Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly butter a 25cm springform tin, then dust with flour, shaking out excess. Process all remaining ingredients except icing sugar in a food processor until smooth (1-2 minutes). Pour into prepared tin and bake until just set (25-30 minutes). Carefully remove cheesecake from the oven, sprinkle icing sugar over the top and bake until set (8-10 minutes). Remove from oven and brown top with a blowtorch until very dark (1-2 minutes). Alternatively, brown cheesecake under a very hot grill. Cool to room temperature before serving.

Notes

NoteThis recipe is from MoVida Rustica: Spanish Traditions and Recipes by Frank Camorra and Richard Cornish and published by Murdoch Books ($59.95, hbk) and appeared in the October 2009 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller. In editing these recipes for publication, we have made minor changes to bring them into Gourmet Traveller style.