The BBC needs no introduction. It basically won the internet (baking edition) this covid season and for good reason. It looks and IS approachable. Your cake tin is lined with parchment paper that you press down haphazardly into the pan, its crumpled edges peeking out above the cake tin unevenly. A Stepford wife's greatest nightmare, but a messy girl's (Me!) beautiful dream.

The rumpled paper cocoons the cheese custard inside and after it's been baked (or burnt), the cake emerges from the oven with intensely burnished bits and edges. What makes it so appealing? This rugged rusticity draws to mind carnal pleasures that appeal to our base insticts. Burning food over fire, allowing things to get charred so well it teeters on the edge of utter destruction, but since we're the only mammals who have managed to transform cooking into an art and form civilization, we control the process and produce something beautiful instead - its creamy insides like "a wedge of triple-crème Camembert" (this article said it so beautifully).

The contrast of yin-yang, this tension and contradiction co-existing in just one slice of heaven.This is my favourite version, which produces a really creamy texture that's not too sweet and has a nice balance of flavour. I've adapted the recipe from here and here, to form a version that I like best.

Ingredients

• 500g cream cheese, softened at room temperature

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 150g sugar

• 4 eggs

• 180g heavy cream

• 6" round cake pan (3" tall, 6" in diameter)parchment paper

Directions

• Line a 6" round cake pan with parchment paper, making sure there's an overhang. This makes it easy for you to unmould the burnt cheesecake. Also, less washing up to do. The beauty of this is that it looks rustic. Don't sweat it. Just rumple up some parchment paper and line your cake pan. 

• Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, or an electric hand held whisk, start to mix your cream cheese, sugar, and salt on medium speed until it's well combined and lightened. This should take 4 to 5 minutes using a machine. The mixture should be creamy and lump-free. If not, go for longer. Scrape the sides of your bowl occasionally to ensure everything is evenly distributed.

• Crank your mixer speed down to low and add your eggs in one at a time, making sure each addition is well incorporated before adding the next egg.

• Add your heavy cream to the mixture, and stir to combine. Pour your batter into your parchment-lined pan.

• Bake in your pre-heated oven for 18 to 20 minutes for it to have a texture similar to this video. If you prefer it slightly more set but still molten, bake it for 25 to 30 minutes. You're basically looking for the cake to have an extremely golden-brown exterior (burnt) but the centre of the cake should still have some jiggle when you take it out of the oven. Let it cool completely before refrigerating and slicing. Enjoy! 

Notes

• For more tips and visual guides, head on to my IG stories highlights.

• Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature. It has to be softened sufficiently if you want your cheesecake to be creamy. Don't try this with cold or semi cold cream cheese. Just.Don't. Unless you're a masochist.

• Make sure you add in your eggs one at a time, making sure each addition is well combined before adding the next one. This allows for proper emulsification to take place.

• You can also make this using a food processor or blender, as is done in the original recipe. I don't have a large enough food processor or blender, so I just use a stand mixer.

• You can also add some vanilla or lemon juice to the mix.

• Feel free to play around with a different mix of cheeses once you get the base recipe down.

• To get the luscious, molten texture that's the hallmark of a BBC, make sure your cake still jiggles when you take it out of the oven. You may need to play around with your oven's temp. and baking time before you get it down. So get to know your oven. If the cake doesn't move when you take it out of the oven, it won't have a molten texture. You'll get a regular cheesecake without the crust, and with a burnt exterior.

• For a smaller cheesecake in a 6" pan, scale the cream cheese down to 375g, sugar to 112g, eggs to 3, heavy cream to 135g and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

• For the Black Sesame Variation, add 50g of Black sesame paste (unsweetened) to the cream cheese and sugar mixture in Step 2.

• For the Earl Grey Variation, add 2 teabags of earl grey tea DUST (not whole leaves, the grounded up leaves) in Step 2.