Gâteau basque — Cambo-les-Bains, France
Cambo-les-Bains, France
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The Basque cake as we know it today was born in Cambo-les-Bains in the 19th century: Marianne Hirigoyen, a pastry cook, sold it at the Bayonne market and introduced it to the spa town's visitors. The original version uses jam made from the black cherries of Itxassou, the neighbouring village; pastry cream, more common today, came later. A Basque cake museum has opened in Sare, and Cambo holds its festival every autumn.
The pastry is a thick, buttery, almond shortbread, flavoured with rum or vanilla, which encloses the filling between two sheets; the surface is egg-glazed and scored with a fork, often in a Basque cross.
Preparation
- 01
Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs and rum, then the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt. Shape into two discs and chill for 1 hour.
- 02
Roll out the first disc into a buttered 24 cm tin, bringing the edges up the sides.
- 03
Fill with jam, cover with the second disc, and seal the edges. Glaze with egg yolk and score with a fork.
- 04
Bake for 40 minutes at 180°C (350°F). Let cool before turning out.
Where this version sits
A single, final coordinate: Cambo-les-Bains, France. Another version of the same dish, elsewhere, gets its own point.
Photo: Asturio Cantabrio — CC BY-SA 4.0
