What crust status characterizes Basque cheesecake?

Basque cheesecake is characterized by being crustless.

The style comes from La Viña, a pintxo bar in San Sebastián, Spain, where Santiago Rivera created it in 1988. Unlike New York cheesecake, it is baked directly in a parchment-lined pan without a cookie, pastry or graham-cracker base.

Its dramatic appearance comes from high-temperature baking, which darkens the top through caramelization while leaving the center creamy and custard-like. The parchment may wrinkle around the sides, but that paper is not a crust.

A common mix-up is treating every cheesecake as a crusted pie. Basque cheesecake is also called San Sebastián cheesecake or burnt Basque cheesecake, although the darkest versions are more common in international interpretations than in every Spanish presentation.