<p>Nicholas Gavin is the Culinary Creative Director of ChefSteps, where he develops recipes and is responsible for making all the food look beautiful. Nick has worked at ChefSteps for over a decade; he and ChefSteps co-founder Grant Crilly worked together at Modernist Cuisine. Nick has worked in professional kitchens both in the United States and abroad, most notably at Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain.</p>

Nicholas Gavin

<p>Basque cheesecake has got to be one of the most exciting innovations in the annals of cheesecake history. Dreamed up by chef Santiago Rivera at La Viña in Donostia-San Sebastian, it’s a sight to behold: the iconic burnished (not burnt!) top; the oozy, custardy center; and, of course, the complete lack of a bottom crust.
 
Nailing it requires a two-phase bake, starting in a hot oven to brown the top, then dropping the temperature to gently raise the internal temperature of the custard. We pull the cheesecake from the oven well before it hits the target internal temp, allowing carryover cooking to take it the rest of the way.</p>

Basque Cheesecake