Lining Tin For Basque Cheesecake

Our answer

Nigella's Basque Burnt Cheesecake With Liquorice Sauce is different to most cheesecakes as it is cooked in a very hot oven, rather than very gently in a water bath. It is also served slightly warm, rather than chilled. This technique gives a soft cheesecake with a burnished surface. The springform pan is lined on the base and sides with baking parchment (parchment paper) so that the cheesecake can be removed easily whilst still slightly warm.

Without knowing exactly what type of oven was used it is difficult to deduce the exact source of the problem. However, from the description we wonder if the oven had a top heating element. If there is a large amount of paper above the top of the pan then the paper could be much closer to any heating element and will be more exposed to heat. Whatever the type of oven, we would suggest that the lining paper does not protrude too much over the top of the springform pan. Once the lining paper has been weighted down in the pan, we suggest using scissors to trim it so that only about 2.5cm/1 inch sits above the rim of the pan.