Name: Frank Camorra’s tarta de queso (cheesecake)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 8
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

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.

Frank Camorra: Tarta de queso (Cheesecake)

Serves 8

Prep

10M

Cook

45M

Total

55M

“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.

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.
Notes

Richard Cornish

Frank Camorra