For the Burnt Basque Cheesecake:

1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees fahrenheit for 1 hour. Do not skip this step! The oven needs to be properly preheated to be at the highest temperature possible to ensure it’s hot enough to bake the cheesecake. 

2. Once your oven has been preheated for 1 hour, get started on your cheesecake mixture. Grease your springform pan with butter or oil to allow the parchment paper to stick. Crumple a large piece of parchment paper and place inside the springform pan, leaving about a 2-3” overhang on all sides. Depending on the size of your parchment paper, you may need to use two overlapping sheets, just be sure to close any gaps between the parchment paper with more butter or oil. Add the cheesecake pan to a baking sheet and set aside.

3. To a blender or food processor, add the cream cheese, eggs, egg yolk, heavy cream, white sugar, vanilla bean paste, lemon zest, and salt. Blend for 2-3 minutes or until completely smooth, then pour into your prepared cheesecake pan. If you use a blender, you may need to tap out any air bubbles.

4. Immediately transfer the cheesecake to the middle rack of your oven and bake for 27 minutes. It should be a bit golden brown, but don’t worry if it’s not fully dark brown yet as the broiler will get it there. 

5. Broil for about 1 minute on the middle rack, keeping a close eye on it, until it’s a deep brown color. Remove from the oven and place on the counter instead of the stove to ensure the cheesecake does not continue to cook as it cools.

6. Allow the cheesecake to cool completely before transferring to the fridge uncovered to set overnight, or a minimum of 12 hours. 

7. 30 minutes prior to serving, remove from the fridge to allow it to come to room temperature. Slice and serve, and enjoy!