Traditional Gateau Basque Cake
Gateau Basque is a traditional cake from the Basque country. This Basque cake recipe is made with a flaky, buttery crust and is filled with pastry cream and cherry marmalade.
Belula
July 31, 2020
Gâteau Basque is a traditional dessert from the French Basque Region typically filled with black cherry jam and vanilla pastry cream . Gâteau Basque filled only with pastry cream is more commonly found in the Spanish Basque Region. A few years ago, I travelled to the Basque Country, and I had the pleasure of trying the real Gateau Basque; And tried it every single day I was there! This Basque cake recipe has a flaky dough filled with pastry cream and cherry jam with a mild lemony flavor! I prefer the French cherry Basque cake version! I hope you love it as much as I do!
Material & Ingredient notes
- Butter: make sure it has at least 82% fat content. If not, you will end up with a moist dough.
- All-purpose flour
- Lemon zest: to add the extra flavor that makes this dough even better.
- Baking powder: it makes the cake fluffy and it is thanks to the baking powder that the lining of the tin is not necessary (as it would be for a traditional shortbread crust). The baking powder will make the dough gain volume and kind of line itself 😊.
- Salt: always necessary in pastry. Salt brings out flavor of the other ingredients present in the recipe.
- Eggs: use good quality organic eggs if possible.
- Black Cherry Jam: I used this Agour Basque Dark Cherry Jam store-bought jam from the Basque Country. You can also buy this one Tiptree Black Cherry Preserve. Or you can make your own. This is a good recipe Easy Black Cherry Jam Recipe – Conserve Method {Gluten Free}.
- Pastry Cream: it should be prepared some time in advance, so you give it the necessary time to chill in the refrigerator. You can find a delicious, step-by-step vanilla pastry cream recipe here.
- 20 cm x 2.8/3 cm (8 inch x 1.1 inch) round cake ring. You can also use a springform cake pan of the same size.
How to make this recipe
To make this gateau Basque recipe you must:
- Make the dough, and chill for 2 hours
- Make the pastry cream and refrigerate until cold
- Assemble the Basque cake
- Bake the cake until golden
Recipe notes
- Use cold butter.
- Do not overwork the dough. When bringing the dough together, no kneading necessary. What you need to do is "fraisage" a French technique used to bring together the dough to avoid overworking it and developing the gluten in the flour. Using the palm of your hand smear the dough against the countertop. Repeat the operation until the dough has come together and there are no visible pieces of butter in it. You can see on the pictures above or on this video how to do a proper "fraisage".
- You can find a detailed recipe and instructions on how to make the best vanilla pastry cream here
- Smooth out the pastry cream using a whisk before assembling the Gateau Basque to remove any lumps and make it easier to work with.
- To make the pastry cream cool down faster, spread it out over a baking tray lined with saran wrap. Then cover with saran wrap once again and refrigerate.
- Make sure to butter the cake ring before assembling this cake. This will make lining the ring a lot easier as the dough will slide into it!
- Assemble the cake directly on top of a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Because we are using a cake ring, moving it after assembly would not be advised, as it will most likely break.
- If you are using a springform cake pan, don't make the cake as high as the pan, as this would be too much. Only make the edges 3 cm high (1.1 inch), as you would if you were using a cake ring.
- When covering the Gateau Basque with the second layer of lemon-scented dough, press a rolling pin over it to cut the excess dough and make it stick together.
- If using a springform cake pan, place the dough inside the pan, press it together with the bottom layer of dough using your fingers, and then use a knife to cut out the excess dough.
- Before baking, place the assembled cake in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to one hour. This will make scoring the top of the dough easier and will prevent it from breaking.
- Brush with egg wash before scoring the cake. The egg wash will allow the fork to run smoothly across the dough without breaking it.
- To score this cake, use a fork and make 3 vertical lines and 3 horizontal lines (as shown in the photos). This is the traditional scoring, but you can work your magic here!
Expert notes
To be able to work with the dough for this Basque cake when assembling it you will need to:
- Refrigerate it for at least 2 hours before rolling out
- Make sure there is always enough flour under the dough when you are rolling it out. You do not want it sticking to the countertop and breaking apart.
- Work extremely fast. This dough has a lot of butter so it can be tricky. If at any time you feel is has become too soft and you can no longer move it around without it breaking, pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes before going on.
- You can also roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper.
Storage tips
You can keep this cake for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. If kept at room temperature it will become soggy fast.
Freezer instructions
Yes. You can keep it for up to 1 month in the freezer properly wrapped with saran wrap and placed in a freezer airtight container.
Variations for the Gateau Basque Cake
This dessert can be made filled with:
- Pastry cream only.
- Black cherry jam only.
- Pastry cream and cherry Jam.
- Or you can make a chocolate gateau Basque cake by replacing the vanilla pastry cream with chocolate pastry cream.
Up to you to decide!
The ingredients used in all recipes on this site are measured using the metric system. I use a
scale to be precise with my measurements and ensure good results. If you would also like to use a scale, here are some:
USA,
Canada,
UK,
Australia,
France.
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Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Nutrition: 508 cal
Cuisine: French
Gateau Basque Cake dough
-
Butter
200 g
-
Powdered Sugar
200 g
-
Eggs
1
-
Egg Yolks
1
-
Flour
260 g
-
Baking Powder
7 g
-
Lemon Zest
1
-
Salt
2 g
Pastry Cream
-
Milk
250 g
-
Vanilla Beans
1
-
Sugar
60 g
-
Egg Yolks
3
-
Cornstarch
20 g
Assembly
-
Cherry Jam
50 g
-
Egg Yolks
1
- 1. Make the Basque Cake Dough: Place the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, salt, and the cold butter (cut in cubes) in a bowl. Use your fingertips to mix the ingredients until you obtain a breadcrumb/sandy consistency. Add the powdered sugar and the egg and the egg yolk and mix using your finger or a spatula. Transfer the dough to your countertop and using the palm of your hand smear the dough against your work surface. Repeat this process until the dough has come together and there are no more visible pieces of butter. Transfer the dough onto a floured piece of parchment paper. Slightly flour the dough and roll out to ¾ cm thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. Prepare the tart tin (20 cm diameter x 3 cm high): butter it thoroughly and place parchment paper over it.
- 2. Prepare the Vanilla Pastry Cream: Whisk the egg yolks and half the sugar. Add the cornstarch and mix until there are no lumps. Set aside. Bring the milk, half the sugar, and vanilla bean seeds to a boil. Pour half the boiling milk over the sugar/egg yolk/cornstarch mixture and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture back into the pan and bring to a boil over medium heat whisking constantly. Cook for 1-minute, whisking energetically, then remove from the stove. Transfer to a hermetic container, cover with plastic wrap (it should be in contact with the pastry cream) and refrigerate.
- 3. Fry the bugnes: Remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2, one half slightly bigger than the other. Place the smaller half of the dough back in the fridge. Using the bigger half, roll the dough out in a circular shape to 5/6 mm thick. Make sure to work with an abundantly floured surface to avoid the dough sticking and breaking. Work as fast as possible. Place the dough over your tart tin. Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and whisk until smooth. Cover the bottom of the tart tin with a thin layer of cherry jam and top with the pastry cream. Distribute evenly using a spoon or offset spatula. Roll out the second half of the dough and place it over the tart tin already filled with pastry cream. Using a rolling pin, cut the excess dough.
- 4. Bake the Gateau Basque: Place the Basque bake in the fridge for 30 minutes. Brush the cake with the egg wash and using a fork make the decorations as shown in the picture above. Bake at 180 C° (360 F) until golden (about 40 minutes). Let it cool down at room temperature before slicing.
If you made this recipe I would really appreciate it if you leave a rating or comment below! Also, if you share on social media please use #cookwithbelula, I would love to see what you create!
This was super easy to follow and the cake is great!
Hi Ari!
So happy to hear you liked the cake, and especially that you found the instructions easy to follow!
You made my day :)