My mother has never liked chocolate. The only type of chocolate she’d voluntarily consume would be white chocolate (which to me is not chocolate at all), and even then she always finds it way too sweet. She also finds black coffee too bitter, red wines too bitter and tannic, and grapefruits unbearably sour. Although we’ve not conducted any scientific tests, I am convinced that my mother is a supertaster - a genetic disposition whereby an individual is born with extra taste receptors in their tongues (about double the amount of an average taster like me) which make them ultra-perceptive to flavours. For a supertaster, the extra sensitivity usually means that the intensified bitterness in coffee, chocolate, certain dark leafy greens and unsweetened alcoholic drinks are either intolerable or simply not enjoyable.
I did a bit of research (aka. Googled) and learned that many supertasters prefer salty foods, presumably because the salt enhances savoury notes that help to offset any bitter aspects of a food. They also tend to avoid overly sweet and fatty foods, ticking all the boxes of my mother’s taste preferences, although she does enjoy her fatty pork belly and crispy duck skins (but that might just be her strong Chinese genes overriding her tastebuds).
So if one was to bake a cake for a supertaster, like my mother, how would you go about it? She does like cheese but a New York-style cheesecake would be much too rich and cloying. A jiggly Japanese cheesecake would do, but it is a temperamental diva of a cake (and an unwanted reminder of ageing when the cake deflates and the skin wrinkles up, which is totally not appropriate for this occasion). So here’s a compromise: lighter version of a Basque cheesecake that is supposed to look gnarly and rustic and anything but perfect. It’s a doddle to make and you can dress it up with a tumbling of fresh fruit macerated in Pedro Ximenez sherry or a well-aged, syrupy balsamic vinegar. Mum, this will be waiting you when you come visit. Happy Mother’s Day!
A Lighter Basque Cheesecake
This cheesecake falls into the brutti ma buoni (Italian for ‘ugly but good’) category so as long as you follow the recipe, success is guaranteed because no one expects perfection. I should note that I have reduced the sugar for the East Asian palate - if you are used to sweeter desserts, do increase it to 180g. I like to dust the cooled cheesecake with a little icing sugar then adorn it with some cut berries and pomegranate seeds that have been tossed with a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar or Pedro Ximenez sherry.
Makes an 8 inch cake