The Spanish city of San Sebastian has created a global craze for a delicious and unusual dessert called Basque cheesecake. Unlike its cousins, such as New York and no-bake cheesecakes, Basque cheesecakes are not pure white and delicate-looking — in fact, they look like they may have been left in the oven for too long.

Basque cheesecake was created by chef Santiago Rivera of San Sebastian, who found that slightly "burning" a cheesecake gives it a sweet, caramelized flavor with strong vanilla undertones, rather than a smoky or bitter taste. Beyond the dark brown, "burnt" top of a Basque cheesecake, the dessert is also unique because it lacks any sort of crust.

You can make Basque cheesecake at home using sugar, cream cheese, salt, eggs, heavy cream, and all-purpose flour. Chef Trevor Bristol-Joseph says to avoid overmixing the batter, and skip the water bath that is commonly used when baking cheesecake, since this gentle cooking method hinders the characteristic brown top.