Mango Basque Cheesecake

Updated October 2, 2025

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi.
Ready In
11 hr (1 hr baking, 10 hr cooling and chilling)
Rating
4(56)
Comments
Read comments

Intensely creamy with a shiny burnished top, the rustic Basque cheesecake is the perfect format for aromatic mango. This recipe works best with small, intensely flavored ripe mangoes like Alphonso or kesar. Since their season is short, and top quality mangoes can be hard to find, tinned mango pulp, available online and at international supermarkets, works brilliantly here. The convenient, highly flavored pulp also means this can be a centerpiece any time of the year. The top may color unevenly — embrace this, as they do at La Viña in San Sebastian (the homeplace of this now global dessert) where every cheesecake is slightly different and all are glorious to behold.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 12 servings
  • 12 ounces/340 grams cream cheese, at room temperature 

  • ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons/175 grams sugar

  • 4 large eggs

  • 2 large egg yolks

  • 1 ⅓ cups/350 grams canned sweetened mango pulp, preferably Alphonso (see Tips)

  • ¾ cup/180 milliliters heavy cream

  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt 

  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 to 12 servings)

42 grams carbs; 166 milligrams cholesterol; 376 calories; 6 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 21 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 1 gram fiber; 259 milligrams sodium; 6 grams protein; 39 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 425 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Line an 8-inch springform pan with a large piece of parchment paper, pressing it against the bottom and sides, with the paper extending over the rim. The paper will overlap and crease in places. That’s OK, just try and fit it to the form of the pan as much as possible. Trim the paper so 2 to 3 inches of it hang over the edges. 

  3. Step 3

    In a large food processor, blend all of the ingredients together until smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then blend again for 10 seconds to ensure everything is incorporated. (See Tips to mix with an electric mixer or by hand.)

  4. Step 4

    Pour the batter into the pan. Tap lightly to pop surface bubbles, or skim off bubbles with a spoon if needed.

  5. Step 5

    Bake for 30 minutes, then reset the oven temperature to its highest setting (475 to 500 degrees) to cook for a further 10 minutes to brown the top of the cheesecake. The cheesecake should be extremely jiggly and risen. 

  6. Step 6

    Leave to cool on a rack for about 2 hours. It will fall as it cools and develop a shiny top. Transfer to the refrigerator to cool completely, ideally 8 hours or overnight.

  7. Step 7

    Remove the sides of the tin and gently pull away the paper. For the cleanest slices, run a large knife under hot tap water or dip into a jug of freshly boiled water. Wipe dry before slicing and wipe the knife between slices. To amp up the mango flavour, you can serve with fresh sliced mango or a little pour of the canned mango pulp on top.

Tips
  • Canned sweetened Alphonso mango pulp is available online or in South Asian markets. You also can puree fresh, ripe Alphonso mangos and will need 3 to 4 mangoes to get 1 ⅓ cups/350 grams pulp.) If using fresh mango pulp, increase sugar to 1 cup/200 grams total. The mango flavor will be more pronounced and the cheesecake texture creamier if you use canned mango.

  • If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, a hand mixer or a whisk and a bowl. Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until it dissolves. The mixture should look creamy, not grainy, and no longer feel gritty between your fingers. Add the eggs one by one, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Add the mango pulp, heavy cream and lemon juice and mix until smooth. Sift the flour into another bowl and add the salt, then whisk in a few spoonfuls of the cheesecake batter. This is a liaison batter to help the flour incorporate easily into the cheesecake. Ensure it’s smooth before adding it back into the rest of the batter. Mix the two batters together until completely combined and proceed as above.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
56 user ratings
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Comments

John, I wouldn’t think so. The frozen mango chunks are the Tommy Atkins variety and don’t have the same intensely sweet-tart flavor that the Ataulfo mangoes do.

Yes you can defrost and puree frozen mango chunks. You may need to add some sugar to the puree, maybe try 1/4 cup I guess. I’m not entirely sure how much. The recipe uses canned Alphonso (not Ataulfo) mango pulp that is sweetened with some extra sugar. You can buy it on Amazon or in Indian grocery stores. It is usually a yellow tin. The word kesar on the can just means saffron. But the variety does not really matter much. And there shouldn’t be an issue with substituting fresh or frozen mango. If anything it will be a more subtle flavor than the canned variety.

No need to adjust the ingredients. It will just not rise as high but because the recipe calls for baking it initially for 30 minutes, check it after 22-25 minutes, just to be safe. Then crank it up to 475-500 to brown the top. But you'll be fine with a 9" pan.

A bit too sweet for my tastes. I prefer the traditional Basque cheesecake from NYT and add fresh mango on top. Less sugary than the canned and sweetened mango.

Very easy and delicious! I used a 9" diameter pan and the cooking times worked out the same.

I put only 4 eggs, not the 2 extra yolks. I use 300g of cream cheese and replace the heavy cream by 250g of mascarpone.

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