My lovely friend across the creek and I reached peak neighbor a few days ago when the power went out. Stripped of all wifi, no ability to announce our arrival with the preamble of a call or a text, we had to meet at the bridge and talk to each other. She needed a cup of sugar. Really.

So we stepped inside and chatted for a few minutes while I poured the sugar in her cup. She mentioned that the recipe called for yolks – nine of them, in fact – separated from whites. When she broke open a particularly large Spumoni egg, she found that it had two yolks. What a fine stroke of luck!

That evening, she shared a beautiful wedge of cheesecake with us. After dinner we eagerly sampled our portions and were delighted. This Basque cheesecake is light and delicate, and not too sweet. I much prefer the texture of this cake over the more typical cheesecakes that are so sweet and dense.

Vicki says she would add Meyer lemon zest on the next go-around.

Just five ingredients; why not give it a try?

To get the recipe, click here (L.A. Times).