Gâteau Basque Loaf Recipes

GâTEAU BASQUE RECIPE

Steps:

• Bring the milk to a boil in a medium saucepan along with the orange zest.
• In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the vanilla extract, egg, extra egg yolk, flour, cornstarch, and sugar. It should form a paste.
• Add the milk mixture to the mixing bowl and stir thoroughly to combine.
• Pour back into the saucepan, place back over heat and continue to whisk. Bring back to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until slightly thickened, whisking the whole time.
• Strain through a sieve into a sealable container and chill in the fridge.
• Mix the flour and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl.
• In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.
• Add the eggs (not the extra yolk) one at a time, continuing to beat.
• Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until smooth and completely combined.
• Transfer to a piping bag.
• Grease and line an 18-cm (7 inch) cake tin. Lightly dust the base and sides of the tin with flour after lining with baking parchment.
• Take the piping bag and carefully pipe a spiral of gateau mix to completely cover the base of the tin. Pipe a single circle around the outside of the tin to a height of just over 2 centimeters (1 inch).
• Fill the center of the tin with the pastry cream, smoothing down evenly.
• Pipe the remaining cake mix over the top of the pastry cream to seal, making sure the top is smooth and even. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes, and preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
• Take the tin out of the fridge.
• Combine the remaining egg yolk and 1/4 cup of milk, whisking slightly to mix evenly. Brush evenly over the top of the cake and use a fork or knife to score a faint diamond pattern on top. Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve by itself or with a fruit jam!

BASQUE CAKE

Steps:

• To Make the pastry cream Filling: In a sauce pan, combine the milk and 1/3 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons flour. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
• Mix 1/2 cup of hot milk into egg mixture, then pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the hot milk. Return to heat and bring to a boil. Continue cooking over medium heat until mixture thickens and becomes smooth. Remove from heat and let cool for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch springform pan. Combine and sift the flour and baking powder. Set aside
• Cream 1 1/8 cup sugar and 3 eggs until light and fluffy. Fold in the sifted flour mixture in three increments, being careful not to overmix.
• Put half of the dough into the greased pan. Spread the dough so that it covers the bottom of the pan. Place pastry cream to within 3/4 inch of the edge. Add the second half of the cake dough, making sure to enclose all of the filling.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

GATEAU BASQUE

Steps:

• Make the pastry cream: Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk together milk and egg yolks in a glass measuring cup. Add milk mixture to the saucepan, along with butter. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer. Continue to cook until it comes to a boil. Let boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla and brandy.
• Strain pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Just before using, whisk until smooth.
• Make the cake: Combine cherries and brandy in a small bowl; let soak 1 hour.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk pate brisee to a 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch round fluted tart pan with a removable bottom leaving edges to overhang. Freeze 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place pastry cream in a large bowl. Stir with a rubber spatula to loosen. Pour into chilled crust, spreading evenly with an offset spatula. Drain cherries and scatter evenly over pastry cream.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining disk of pate brisee to a 13-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Score surface in a diamond pattern with the edge of a ruler. Lightly brush overhanging edge with egg and top with scored pastry. Press to seal and trim dough along edge of tart pan. Lightly brush top with egg wash. Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes on a wire rack. Remove tart ring and cool completely on rack. Serve at room temperature.

GATEAU BASQUE (FRENCH CUSTARD OR JAM TART)

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and keep at hand.
• Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until smooth. Add the egg and beat another 2 minutes or so, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. The mixture may look curdled, but that's OK. Add vanilla and mix for about a minute more. Then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in two or three additions, mixing only until they're fully incorporated into the dough.
• Place a large sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper on your work surface and put half of the very soft and sticky dough in the center of the sheet. Cover with another piece of plastic or wax paper, then roll the dough into a circle just a little larger than 8 inches in diameter. As you're rolling, turn the dough over and lift the plastic or paper frequently, so that you don't roll it into the dough and form creases. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
• Put the dough on a cutting board or baking sheet and refrigerate it for about 3 hours or for up to 3 days.
• When you're ready to assemble and bake the gateau, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F Generously butter a 2-inch high, 8-inch round cake pan.
• Remove the layers from the refrigerator and let them rest on the counter for a couple of minutes before peeling away the plastic or paper. Fit one layer into the pan. If it breaks, just press the pieces together. If there's a little extra dough running up the sides of the pan, you can either fold it over the bottom layer or cut it so that it's even. Spoon some of the jam or pastry cream onto the dough, starting in the center of the cake and leaving one inch of dough bare around the border. Add more filling if you don't think it will squish out the sides when you press down on it with the top layer of dough. (I find that 3/4 cup is usually just the right amount, but if you're using a very thick jam, you might want a bit more.).
• Moisten the bare ring of dough with a little water and then top with the second piece of dough, pressing down around the edges to seal it. If you'd like, you can work your finger between the top dough and the edge of the pan, so that you tuck the dough under a little. Because of the softness of the dough and the baking powder, even if you only press the layers together very lightly, they'll fuse as they bake. And, no matter how well you press them together, it seems inevitable that a little of the filling will escape.
• Brush the top of the dough with the egg glaze and use the tips of the tines of a fork to etch a cross-hatch pattern across the top.
• Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it rest for 5 minutes before carefully running a blunt knife around the edges of the cake. Turn the cake over onto a cooling rack and then quickly and carefully invert it onto another rack so that it can cool to room temperature right side up.