(^11)
1
Basque Cheesecake
ACTIVE 20 MIN; TOTAL 1 HR 20 MIN, PLUS 7
HR RESTING AND CHILLING
SERVES 12 TO 14
Tavel Bristol-Joseph’s perfectly creamy
cheesecake comes together without a
water bath, with no risk of a cracked or
sunken top. His secret? Incorporating
heavy cream into the whipped cream
c h e e s e b a t te r.
36 oz. cream cheese, at room
temperature
12 / 3 cups granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
6 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a 10-inch
springform pan with 2 large pieces of
parchment paper so they overlap in the
middle, pressing and creasing to fit
snugly in pan and leaving at least 2 inches
of overhang around edge of pan. Set
aside. - Combine cream cheese and sugar
in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the
paddle attachment. Begin beating on
low speed; gradually increase speed to
high, and beat until mixture is smooth
and creamy, 4 to 6 minutes, stopping to
scrape sides of bowl as needed. Whisk
together heavy cream and flour in a
medium bowl until mostly smooth; add to
cream cheese mixture. Beat on low speed
just until incorporated. Add eggs and egg
yolk, 1 at a time, beating on medium-low
speed until combined after each addi-
tion. Add vanilla; beat on low speed until
blended. Pour mixture into prepared pan. - Bake in preheated oven until top is dark
brown and center is still very jiggly, about
30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and
let cool to room temperature, about 3
hours. Chill, uncovered, at least 4 hours. - To serve, remove sides of pan, and
carefully peel back parchment paper. Let
stand at room temperature at least 30
minutes or up to 2 hours before serving.
MAKE AHEAD Cheesecake can be
refrigerated, uncovered, up to 3 days.
WINE Toffee-accented sweet sherry:
González Byass Oloroso Dulce Solera
1847
AVEL BRISTOL-JOSEPH IS A SAVANT when it comes to sugar, flour, and yeast:
His Parker House rolls, served with a glacier of cultured butter, are more pil-
lowy than a cumulus cloud after a thunderstorm. His plated s’mores, a dark
chocolate mousse with wobbly torched meringue surrounded by a moat of
coconut ash and koji cream, is the most finessed version of any dessert inspired
by a campfire. But the first time he ever learned to bake, it was as a punishment. “I was not a great
student growing up, and I was a bad kid,” he explains with a laugh.
Bristol-Joseph, born and raised in Guyana, had a difficult childhood. His father, a drug dealer,
died when he was 7, and his mother was stuck in the United States due to visa restrictions.
Bristol-Joseph would spend evenings after school playing basketball late into the night—much to
the chagrin of the auntie he was living with at the time. As payback for his mischief, she set him
to work every Saturday baking pound cakes, trays of cookies, and loaves of bread for the kids
attending Sunday school at her church. Turns out, he was a natural.
He moved to the United States shortly after graduating high school with dreams of playing
professional basketball, but he quickly realized he had more game in the kitchen than on the
court and enrolled in pastry school in New York City instead. And while his fantasy of being the
next Michael Jordan may have been squashed, Bristol-Joseph has become an undeniable force in
the kitchen. Today, he is a co-owner (alongside 2016 F&W Best New Chef Kevin Fink) and execu-
tive pastry chef at five different restaurants throughout Austin: Emmer & Rye, Hestia, Kalimotxo,
Henbit, and TLV. At all of them, Bristol-Joseph’s globally inspired desserts make their menus
among the most exciting in the country.
At Emmer & Rye, his plates lean intellectual: airy bread pudding arrives with a scoop of bread
amino ice cream, made from a monthslong fermenting process involving lots of scrap bread and
koji. Across town at Hestia, where an entirely frozen dessert menu stands in juxtaposition to the
restaurant’s live-fire-cooked savory options, the star is the kakigori, a frigid mountain of pillowy
shaved ice dusted with an earthy orange-caramel matcha powder and roasted white chocolate
that masks a generous orb of salted cream ice cream. (Bristol-Joseph became obsessed with
the Japanese dessert during a trip to Tokyo and worked through 20 iterations before landing
on this version.) Next door at Kalimotxo, where he
pulls influence from Spain, the showstopper is a
thick slice of Basque cheesecake with a texture so
creamy and a crust so beautifully darkened, you’ll
gasp when it comes to the table.
Today, Bristol-Joseph sees baking as his calling
and his platform. “I had every reason to not be suc-
cessful,” he says. “I want people to see me and know
they can succeed, too.”Tavel Bristol-Joseph
preparing panna
cotta
opposite: Bristol-
Joseph’s Basque
cheesecakeT
being financially sustainable is
incredibly important. i hope to see a change
in the structure of the industry so chefs aren’t
dependent upon investors who just want to make a
profit.” —tavel bristol-joseph