Ingredients

• 900 g full-fat cream cheesethe block, not the tub; stabilisers and water stop it ever setting
• 250 g caster sugar
• 5 eggslarge, at room temperature
• 450 ml double cream
• 30 g plain floursifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 3 tbsp dark floral honeychestnut, heather or buckwheat, with enough character to survive being burnt
• 8 fresh figssweet at the stem but still firm when you squeeze
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Method

1. 01

   Line the tin

   Heat the oven to 220C fan / 240C conventional with a shelf in the middle. Cut two large sheets of baking parchment, crumple each into a ball, open them out again and use them to line a deep 23 cm springform tin, overlapping and letting them stand 5 cm proud of the rim. The crumpling is what makes the parchment sit into the corners; the collar catches the rise. Do not trim the folds flat. The rustic pleats are part of how a Basque cheesecake looks.

2. 02

   Burn the honey

   Put the honey in a small pale saucepan over medium heat. It will thin, then bubble across the whole surface, then start to foam and darken. Cook for 2-3 minutes, swirling, until it is one clear shade darker than it started and smells toasted and slightly bitter. Like the edge of a caramel. Pull it off the heat the moment the smell turns; honey burns faster than sugar. Leave it 5 minutes to cool; it will thicken as it does.

   3 tbsp dark floral honey

3. 03

   Beat the base smooth

   Beat the room-temperature cream cheese with the caster sugar on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, scraping the bowl down twice, until completely smooth with no visible lumps. Get this right before anything else goes in: a lump of cold cream cheese at this stage will still be a lump in the baked cheesecake, and nothing later in the process will smooth it out.

   900 g full-fat cream cheese · 250 g caster sugar

   Everything at room temperatureCold cream cheese lumps and cold eggs split it. Take it all out an hour before.

4. 04

   Add the eggs one at a time

   Add the eggs one by one on low speed, beating for 20-30 seconds after each and scraping down between. Low speed matters here. Whipping air into the batter makes the cheesecake soufflé up dramatically and then crater as it cools. You want it dense and pourable, like thick paint.

   5 eggs

5. 05

   Finish the batter

   Still on low, pour in the cream, then add the sifted flour, 1 tsp vanilla, salt and the cooled burnt honey. Mix just until uniform, about 30 seconds. Pour the batter through a sieve into the lined tin. It takes a minute and guarantees a silken set.

   450 ml double cream · 30 g plain flour · 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

6. 06

   Bake hot and dark

   Bake for 45-55 minutes. The top must go genuinely dark. Mahogany brown, almost burnt-looking in patches, with the surface risen and cracked. Do not take it out while it is still golden; that colour is the entire flavour of the cake. It is ready when the outer 4 cm is set and the middle third still wobbles like a loose jelly when you shake the tin. If it is dark at 35 minutes but the centre is liquid, drop to 200C fan and keep going.

7. 07

   Cool, then chill

   Cool in the tin on a rack for 2 hours. It will sink considerably in the centre, which is correct and expected. Then chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Do not skip the chill even though it is tempting: the centre is still liquid when warm and only sets to that loose, almost molten texture once it has been completely cold.

8. 08

   Roast the figs

   Heat the oven to 200C fan / 220C conventional. Halve the figs lengthways and sit them cut-side up in a small roasting tin so they are snug. Spoon over the maple syrup and lemon juice. Roast for 12-15 minutes until the cut faces have collapsed slightly, the edges are caramelised and the syrup in the tin has thickened and gone glossy. Keep them just warm.

   8 fresh figs · 2 tbsp maple syrup · 1 tsp lemon juice

   Roast the figs freshAn hour before serving, not reheated. They collapse completely the second time.

9. 09

   Serve at the right temperature

   Take the cheesecake out of the fridge 45-60 minutes before serving and unclip the tin, peeling the parchment down rather than off. Fridge-cold, the centre is firm and the flavour is muted; at cool room temperature it goes slack and creamy and the burnt honey comes forward. Cut with a hot dry knife and serve each slice with warm figs and a spoonful of their syrup.