Gâteau Basque Recipe (2024)

For 9” pan Flour 320 g; Baking powder Scant Tbl (.937); Salt Scant tsp; Butter 178 g; Lt. Brown sugar 69 g ; Granulated sugar 63 g; 1 large Egg; 1/2 tsp (.625 tsp); Jam 225 to 300 g

Years ago I spent the summer in the Southwest of France and became addicted to these cakes. Plum jam is also a good filling but my introduction to the pastries, and the reason I gained five pounds in one summer, were the cakes with a filling of rich pastry cream, flavored with a bit of rum.

So that the top layer will seal without the jam leaking out.

Why do you leave a one inch border around the base?

If I wanted to make this with the pastry cream filling instead of the jam, is the procedure the same? That is, can you bake the pastry cream inside the cake or do you have to bake the layers first and then add the pastry cream after baking somehow?

I am tempted to swap almond flour for some of the wheat flour…Anyone try this?

I’ve prepped this several times using Dory’s recipe in one of her cookbooks. I use a good quality raspberry jam as the filling (although I have tried a thick cherry jam occasionally). This is a delicious dessert that always brings compliments and smiles. Try it!

My mother-in-law once made me this cake for my birthday. I remember that the recipe called for using the pastry cream exactly as you would use a fruit jam.

Delicious-- made w homemade mandarin marmalade and a special thin layer of Pistachio spread underneath. The dough did not peel off the parchment paper after chilling. I would recommend using wax paper perhaps? Or greasing the parchment though I'm not sure that would work. Cooked this in my nine inch skillet and it looked very handsome coming out!I remember a recipe like this one w rum in the dough and something to do with almonds. I'm wondering what it could be.

Made this with pastry cream - just use it as you would jam. Sped up the cooling using the freezer to good result. Froze for 30 minutes, rested on the countertop for five to 10 minutes.

In addition to being careful not to have the jam within 1 inch of the edge, I'd advise not trimming the extra dough on the base layer so it's easier to join the two layers together so the jam doesn't leak out. My jam did leak and it made transferring out of the pan, unmolding, and turning it cross hatch up somewhat of a mess. But, it tasted good.

9” Correction - After the Egg the entry should be “1/2 tsp (.625 tsp) VANILLA extract”

Any adjustments for 9 x 3 round cake pan, with removable smooth bottom (no cross hatch)?

The crosshatching comes from running a fork across the top after the egg wash is brushed on.I think the instructions mean to unmold the cake onto a rack (then the top will become the bottom) and then flip it over onto another rack so the top again becomes the top and the crosshatching faces up. Hope this helps.

Great cake! Lots of filling ideas on line. Wife wants a chocolate cream next time. Followed the recipe except, used a raspberry jam (it's what I had), 8" parchment paper on the bottom and, as always, non-stick spray instead of buttering the pan. For additional commentary, Ms. Greenspan did an NPR interview about this cake in 2009. Fun to read.

I made this the other day with a cranberry compote as the filling … thanksgiving version! It is delicious and versatile and easy.

Made exactly as described. Chilled dough for 3 hours, then took out 10 minutes to soften. Dough completely stuck to the paper and I had to essentially piece it together using all the crazy pieces of dough. I don't think it needed those 10 minutes, but maybe it would have stuck anyway. Baked up fine, and because I mistakenly used a spring form pan, I didn't have to worry about flipping it from rack to rack and losing the crust in the process. The taste is divine, but we need some tweaks here.

This disappointed me. It’s more like a biscuit with cherry jam or a cherry shortbread than a “stuffed blondie baked in a tart shell” —how my traveling companion and I described the gâteaux while in Basque Country recently. If I were a doctor, I would prescribe more butter, more brown sugar, more salt! If anyone wants a rec, our hands-down favorite was the apricot-walnut gâteau at Maison Adam in Biarritz.

So easy and so good, I added pflaumenmus on one side and mixed berry cherry on the other half.

Those of you who have made this, or had the good fortunate of eating it in le pays basque, would fig jam be good rather than cherry?

I‘ve made this from time to time since it was published in NYT cooking. Followed the recipe as written with no complications (and no leaking). Delicious and not overly sweet, a bit like a pop-tart for grownups. It’s great with afternoon tea or coffee. Don‘t sweat the fillings, just use your favorite jam.

I made this with all purpose gluten free flour...came out a bit dry and very, very crumbly, still tasty. Next time I will use finely ground almond flour as that seems to bind itself together more. The 1 egg for the egg wash proved to be far too much...ended up scrambling the excess.

Shockingly delicious warm out of the oven! A tender, flaky crust and then that hit of cherry jam. I used Bonne Maman.

I made these into mini pies using a tart pan. I also added a bit of almond extract to the jam. They were awesome and perfect for casual parties so each guest can just grab and go. I was able to get 12 tartlets out of this recipe with some scraps left over for a few cookies.

A friend of mine fell in love with this cake the first time I made it (so much easier to make than it sounds!). Now she has requested I make one with a layer of almond along with the cherry jam. I don't know whether to use almond creme, almond paste, marzipan... ? Can someone advise? I am not generally a pastry maker, so I have no "instinct" for what would be best.

I had just placed the second disk of pastry over the strawberry-fig jam and sealed the edges when I realized I had forgotten to butter the cake pan. Took one of the parchment pieces, upended the pan over that and managed to get the cake out of the cake pan without breaking the dough. Put the cake back in the pan with the parchment paper under it. Worked beautifully, very easy to get out of the pan. And delicious!

We are overrun with green figs from our single, bountiful tree. So, I made this recipe with Martha Rose Shulman’s fig jam. It turned out beautifully, with a rich, crumbly cake and fresh fig taste. What Sir Isaac Newton wanted for his eponymous fig treat.

This recipe was straight forward and simple to accomplish.. I did use an 8” springform pan which made it easy to slide off the bottom disk once cooled. I made this for a friend who lives part time in the basque region and it was a hit! I will make it again.

I’ve made it with cherry, strawberry and blueberry—all delicious. And made it gluten and dairy free (sensitive family members) with stick margarine and gf 1 for 1 flour with a little extra xanthan gum. Was slightly different texture on the dough but still crumbly and held together perfectly. This is a new family favorite.

And used 8 inch tart pan—no problems removing it from the pan and it fit perfectly.