Thai Tea Cheesecake

Name: Thai Tea Cheesecake
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

RECIPE: Reprinted with permission from Cooking Thai: Heritage and Modern Recipes from My Kitchen Notebooks by Pim Techamuanvivit with Andrea Nguyen, copyright © 2026. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Photographs copyright © 2026 by Ed Anderson.

Photo: Ed Anderson

August 21, 2026

A Basque cheesecake recipe with a Thai twist.

Michelin-starred chef Pim Techamuanvivit’s debut cookbook, Cooking Thai: Heritage and Modern Recipes from My Kitchen Notebooks, shares more than 100 recipes that demonstrate the richness of Thai cuisine. For her take on a Basque cheesecake recipe, which was given to her by San Francisco food writer and restaurateur Patty Unterman of Hayes Street Grill, she added Thai tea to the mix.

Ingredients

Yield:8

1 1/4 cups heavy cream, plus more to taste
1/4 cup ChaTraMue brand Thai tea mix (from 6 sachets)
2 8-oz packages Philadelphia cream cheese, cubed and at room temperature
scant 1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg white, at room temperature
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour (any kind, even a one-to-one gluten-free blend)
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

Tools:small saucepan, fine-mesh strainer, 8-inch round pan with removable bottom, blender or food processor, sheet pan

Preparation

Infuse the creamIn a small saucepan, combine the cream and tea mix. Set over medium heat and warm, stirring continuously to release the tea flavor, color, and vanilla-like aroma. When tiny bubbles appear at the pan edge, turn off the heat and let sit, uncovered, until the cream is an intense rusty orange, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer set over a measuring cup, firmly pressing against the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much flavor as possible (a little tea in the cream is forgivable). You need a generous 1 cup total. If you’re short, splash some cream into the strainer, stir, then press through. Let the cream cool, uncovered, until tepid.
Prep the oven and panMeanwhile, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F (no convection, please!). For a handsome cake, use a high-sided 8-inch round pan with a removable bottom. (My pan is 3 inches | 7.5cm tall.) Line it with two 12 by 16-inch pieces of parchment paper, crisscrossing them. Use your fingertips to press the paper firmly onto the bottom and up the sides to set the edges and minimize the space between the parchment pieces. When done, the parchment should extend about 2 inches above the rim.
Make the batterIn a blender or food processor, combine the tepid cream, cream cheese, sugar, whole eggs, egg white, flour, and salt and process until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. It should fill a good 1 1/2 inches below the rim to allow space for the cheesecake to rise. Tap the pan on your counter to remove any air bubbles, then place it on a sheet pan. Bake, chill, and serve: Slide the sheet pan into the oven and bake the cake until dark brown, cracked at the perimeter, and wobbly in the center but dry to the touch on top, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer the round pan to a wire cooling rack and let cool for about 1 hour, then unmold and leave to cool completely before serving. If not serving the cake the same day, cover and refrigerate and return to room temperature to serve.

Notes“Rich Philly cream cheese works best, and the resulting cake is beautifully browned from high-heat baking, not from broiling. You cannot screw this recipe up, though do have the cream cheese and eggs at room temperature to facilitate blending. To serve this cheesecake for dinner, bake it in the morning or a day ahead. It needs time to rest so that the center can slightly set.”