Gâteau Basque


Gâteau Basque
This traditional Basque dessert is similar to a gâteau breton (brittany butter cake), but very moist as it is filled with a rum-flavoured confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière, or french pastry cream).

This is a fairly simple recipe, though as the dough is fragile and difficult to handle, I offer a useful tip to make this easier.
83 K 4.8/5 (20 reviews)
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Last modified on: September 11th 2018
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For 1 gâteau, you will need:

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Times for this recipe
Preparation: 1 hour 8 min.
Resting: 1 hour 3 min.
Cooking: 40 min.
All in all: 2 hours 55 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
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Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - ⌛ 30 min.
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 1
Prepare the confectioner's custard with 4 egg yolks, 66 g caster sugar, 330 ml whole milk and 25 g cornflour, using the method explained here.

When the custard is cooked, add 2 tablespoons rum, mix well and cover.

Set aside in the refrigerator.

Stage 2 - ⌛ 5 min.
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 2
Put into a food-mixer bowl: 300 g flour, 120 g butter, 190 g caster sugar, 10 g vanilla sugar, 2 eggs, 10 g baking powder and ½ teaspoon fine (or table) salt.

Stage 3 - ⌛ 5 min.
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 3
Start kneading and stop as soon as the dough is evenly mixed.

Stage 4 - ⌛ 2 min.
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 4
Weigh the dough and divide into 2 unequal parts: 1/4 and 3/4.

Stage 5 - ⌛ 7 min.
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 5
Roll out the smaller piece of dough between 2 sheets of cooking parchment into a circle...

Stage 6 - ⌛ 7 min.
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 6
...the size of your tin or mould.

Using 2 sheets of cooking parchment makes it easier to roll out the soft, fragile dough.

Stage 7 - ⌛ 1 hour
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 7
Then roll out the larger piece of dough, again using 2 sheets of cooking parchment, into a circle a little larger (by about 1 inch / 2 or 3 cm) than your tin.

Lay both circles, still in their papers, on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Stage 8 - ⌛ 3 min.
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 8
After this, the dough will be firmer and easier to handle.

Take the larger circle out of the fridge, carefully remove the paper and lay the dough in the tin.

Preheat your oven at 360°F (180°C).

Stage 9 - ⌛ 4 min.
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 9
Fill the case with the rum-flavoured custard and level the top.

Stage 10
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 10
Turn the edges of the dough in towards the centre.

Stage 11 - ⌛ 2 min.
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 11
Take the remaining circle out of the fridge, carefully remove the paper and lay in the tin like a "lid" on top of the custard filling.

Stage 12 - ⌛ 3 min.
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 12
Glaze the top of the cake.

Stage 13 - ⌛ 3 min.
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 13
If you like, you can decorate the top by marking the dough with a fork. Use a bit of pressure, or the marks will disappear during cooking.

Stage 14 - ⌛ 40 min.
Gâteau Basque  : Stage 14
Bake for 40 minutes.

Best eaten cold, the gâteau Basque will only improve if kept for a day or two.
Remarks
For an even more pronounced rum flavour, add a tablespoonful to the bowl before mixing the dough.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, covered with plastic film.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe80 RDI=30 %560 RDI=50 %160 RDI=20 %3,890 RDI=190 %16,280 RDI: 190 %
Per 100 g5 RDI=2 %40 RDI=4 %10 RDI=2 %300 RDI=20 %1,270 RDI: 20 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman
Possible allergens in this recipe: egg, milk, Gluten
How much will it cost?
  • For 1 gâteau : 3.20 €

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Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
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