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.
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.
71 K 4.8/5 (20 reviews)
2 hours 55 min.
Easy
2 gâteaux
13 IngredientsLast modified on: September 11th 2018
For 2 gâteaux, you will need:
- 1
8 egg yolks - 2
132 ml caster sugar - 3
660 ml whole milk - 4
48.5 ml cornflour - 5
4 tablespoons rum - 6
936 ml flour - 7
248 ml butter - 8 380 ml caster sugar
- 9
20 ml vanilla sugar - 10
4 eggs - 11
20 ml baking powder - 12
1 teaspoon fine (or table) salt - 13
40 ml beaten egg
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 1 hour 8 min.
Resting: 1 hour 3 min.
Cooking: 40 min.
All in all: 2 hours 55 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 30 min.
Prepare the confectioner's custard with 8 egg yolks, 132 ml caster sugar, 660 ml whole milk and 48.5 ml cornflour, using the method explained here.
When the custard is cooked, add 4 tablespoons rum, mix well and cover.
Set aside in the refrigerator.
When the custard is cooked, add 4 tablespoons rum, mix well and cover.
Set aside in the refrigerator.
Stage 2 - 5 min.
Put into a food-mixer bowl: 936 ml flour, 248 ml butter, 380 ml caster sugar, 20 ml vanilla sugar, 4 eggs, 20 ml baking powder and 1 teaspoon fine (or table) salt.
Stage 3 - 5 min.
Start kneading and stop as soon as the dough is evenly mixed.
Stage 4 - 2 min.
Weigh the dough and divide into 2 unequal parts: 1/4 and 3/4.
Stage 5 - 7 min.
Roll out the smaller piece of dough between 2 sheets of cooking parchment into a circle...
Stage 6 - 7 min.
...the size of your tin or mould.
Using 2 sheets of cooking parchment makes it easier to roll out the soft, fragile dough.
Using 2 sheets of cooking parchment makes it easier to roll out the soft, fragile dough.
Stage 7 - 1 hour
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.
Lay both circles, still in their papers, on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Stage 8 - 3 min.
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).
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.
Fill the case with the rum-flavoured custard and level the top.
Stage 10
Turn the edges of the dough in towards the centre.
Stage 11 - 2 min.
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.
Glaze the top of the cake.
Stage 13 - 3 min.
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.
Bake for 40 minutes.
Best eaten cold, the gâteau Basque will only improve if kept for a day or two.
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 recipe | 150 RDI=60 % | 1,120 RDI=110 % | 310 RDI=50 % | 7,780 RDI=390 % | 32,550 RDI: 390 % |
| Per 100 g | 5 RDI=2 % | 40 RDI=4 % | 10 RDI=2 % | 300 RDI=20 % | 1,270 RDI: 20 % |
| Per gâteau | 80 RDI=30 % | 560 RDI=50 % | 160 RDI=20 % | 3,890 RDI=190 % | 16,280 RDI: 190 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 2 gâteaux : 6.40 €
- Per gâteau : 3.20 €
Change currency: 
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)
Whole milk
Like these other recipes: Parmesan cauliflower cheese, Gnocchi alla romana, Hearty potato and ham gratin, Pear and chocolate tart with a hint of mint, Mousse with two chocolates, ... See them all 66
Flour
Like these other recipes: Chestnut Fudge Cupcakes, Franche-Comté sticks, Shortcrust pastry (pâte brisée), Craquelin (sweet cracker dough), Kugelhof for Nanou, ... See them all 200
Butter
Like these other recipes: Pan-fried salmon with white cabbage, Paris flan filling, Baked Mont d'Or with diced mixed vegetables, Sliced veal with leeks and mushrooms, Crispy prawn rolls, ... See them all 466
Caster sugar
Like these other recipes: Citrus syrup, Milk rolls, Chestnut cake, Clafoutis "Marie-Antoinette", Crunchy blackcurrant and mascarpone cream verrine, ... See them all 359
Other recipes you may also like
Preserved lemons
For this recipe, the lemons are sliced first (this makes them easier to use later), then salted to drain off the juice before being bottled in herb-flavoured olive oil. These preserved lemons can be used in all sorts of dishes, especially with fish and poultry.December 2nd 2012128 K 15 12 hours 40 min.
How to roll out pastry for a tart
Rolling out pastry from a block and lining a tart mould or tin is not as straighforward as all that. To help you to succeed every time, here is a very simple tip. It will to change your opinion of tarts...October 13th 2010300 K4.6 25 min.
How to prevent butter burning during cooking
Butter, which is excellent for fixing flavours in a recipe, burns if the temperature is too high. It darkens and produces unpleasant small black specks (by the way, note that the famous recipe "raie au beurre noir", ray in black butter, is a kind of sacrilege!).February 21th 2011139 K 24.1 3 min.
Chaud-froid of grapefruit, pineapple and lime custard
Cold grapefruit quarters with slices of hot caramelized pineapple, lime custard (crème anglaise) and citrus crunch.December 20th 2010260 K4.5 2 hours 5 min.
Tomato ladybirds
Tomatoes filled with a tuna mayonnaise and rice mixture, in a fun ladybird shape that kids will love, served with a puree of fresh garden peas. A good way to encourage them to eat vegetables.February 21th 2011279 K 14 1 hour 50 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-05-18)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.