Gâteau Basque
Ingredients
- For the dough: 300 g flour, 60 g ground almonds, zest of 1 lemon, 200 g sugar, 1 egg plus yolks, 200 g soft butter, pinch of salt
- For the filling: black cherry jam, OR a pastry cream made with milk, egg yolks, sugar, flour, ground almonds, rum and vanilla
- 1 egg yolk, for the egg wash
Gâteau Basque comes from the Northern Basque Country and is built from a rich, almost cookie-like dough of flour, ground almonds, butter and lemon zest, filled — traditionally with one or the other, not both — with either dark cherry jam or a rum-and-vanilla pastry cream. Bakers often mark the top with a crosshatch pattern for a cream filling, or the Basque lauburu cross for a cherry one.
Method
Make the dough: mix flour, ground almonds and lemon zest, then work in the butter, sugar, egg and yolks until a smooth dough forms. Divide in two, wrap, and chill at least 30 minutes.
If using pastry cream: whisk egg yolks, sugar and flour, temper in hot vanilla-infused milk, cook until thick, stir in ground almonds and rum, then cool.
Roll out one piece of dough and line a buttered cake tin or tart ring.
Spread the cherry jam or spoon the cooled pastry cream over the base.
Roll out the second piece of dough and lay it over the filling, sealing the edges well.
Brush the top with egg yolk and mark a crosshatch or lauburu pattern with a fork or knife tip.
Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 35-40 minutes until deep golden brown.
