I adore French desserts, as I can imagine most of you do as well. I also happen to be swimming in a bumper crop of peaches from our orchard this year. I know, poor me, right? Nevertheless, this set me out on a search for the ultimate peach dessert because I'm honestly kind of bored of cobblers, pies, and ice creams.
About a week ago I ran across a post about Gâteau Basque. A traditional dessert from the Northern Basque region of France that's so important to the region there's even a museum dedicated to it called Le musée du Gâteau Basque, in Sare, Labourd. Intrigued, I started to do a lot of research into how the cake is made and to see if there might be a peach version I could try. However, much to my chagrin I couldn't find a single recipe that incorporates this beloved summer stone fruit. Now this isn't to say someone hasn't tried to make a peach Gâteau Basque before. I just couldn't find any evidence of it because in almost every variation of the recipe the filling typically consists of cherries, pastry cream, or a combination of the two. Nevertheless, as someone who does not typically feel compelled to follow tradition, I decided it was worth a little bit of experimentation. And, to mine and my family's delight, it actually paid off. Peach Gâteau Basque is everything I hoped it could be. Sweet, rich, and full of creamy summery peachy goodness. So if you are also on the hunt for a new summer treat, you can find the recipe below.
Peach Gâteau Basque
If you can, I highly recommend preparing the peach filling, pastry cream, and dough a day or so in advance. All three can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days and the dough can be kept in the freezer for up to 6 months. Since the dough is heavy on the butter, you'll want everything to be room temperature or colder during the final assembly.
Also, if you have a kitchen scale, I definitely recommend using the weighted measurements. If you don't have a scale, Amazon has a fabulous selection of them that can be found by clicking on the image to the right.
Peach Filling
1.75 pounds of ripe and slightly underripe peaches (~6 medium sized peaches)
1 1/4 cups (251 g) sugar (or a little less if you prefer a less sweet filling)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Step 1
Bring 1 large pot of water to a rolling boil. Once boiling, carefully add all of the peaches and allow to boil for 45 seconds. Quickly remove the peaches and place in an ice bath for about 1 minute.
Step 2
With a knife, score the bottom of the peaches and remove the skins. Once skins are removed, remove the pits and cut peaches into chunks.
Step 3 Add peaches and lemon juice to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. With a masher or spatula, crush the pieces so that only small chunks remain.
Step 4
Reduce heat to medium and add the sugar. Bring the peaches back to a boil and stir frequently.
Step 5
Continue to boil and stir until the peaches reduce and liquids begin to thicken to a consistency similar to jam (Between 15-20 minutes). Once the desired consistency is reached, set pan aside and allow to cool to room temperature.
Pastry Cream
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1/3 cup (84 g) granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
2 tbsp (20 g) corn starch
2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tsp (10 g) dark rum
Step 1
Place the milk, sugar, and salt in a small sauce pan. Split the vanilla bean down the the length of the pod and use the knife to scrape the seeds into the milk. Add the pod to the milk as well once seeds have been removed. Heat over medium-high heat stirring regularly with a wooden spoon until small bubbles form around the outer edge and the milk begins to steam (about 4-5 minutes)
Step 2
Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk to combine the eggs, yolks, and cornstarch until smooth.
Step 3
Slowly whisk the scalding milk into the egg mixture, then return the custard to the pan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and just begins to boil.
Step 4
Pour custard back into bowl, remove the vanilla bean pod, and immediately whisk in the butter and rum. Stir until butter is melted.
Step 5
Cover with plastic film (Make sure film is in direct contact with the pastry cream to prevent a thick skin from forming on the surface) and allow to cool before placing in the fridge to chill for several hours.
The Dough
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (200 g) cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
1 3/4 cup (200 g) powdered sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 3/4 cup plus 2 tsp (260 g) flour
1/2 tbsp (7 g) baking powder
zest of 1 lemon
1/3 tsp (2 g) salt
Step 1
Place the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, salt, and cold butter into a bowl. Using your fingers, mix the ingredients together until it reaches a sandy consistency.
Step 2
Add the powdered sugar, egg, and egg yolk and mix until the ingredients just start to a form a dough. Don't worry if the cubes of butter are not yet fully incorporated.
Step 3
Transfer the dough to your countertop and, using the palm of your hand, smear the dough against the work surface. Repeat this process until the dough has come together and there are no more visible pieces of butter.
Step 4
Transfer the dough onto a floured piece of parchment paper. Flour the dough, cover with another piece of parchment paper and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Bringing It All Together
1 large egg
1 tbsp (15 ml) water
Step 1
Thoroughly butter a 9 inch tart or pie pan. (You can can also line with parchment paper although I don't think this step is totally necessary. However, it did make it easy to remove the cake once it had fully cooled.)
Step 2
Remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2, slightly unequal halves. Place the smaller half back into the fridge.
Step 3
Place the dough on top of one abundantly floured piece of parchment paper and sprinkle some additional flour on top of the dough. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough and roll dough out to a circular shape about an inch wider in diameter than pan. Peel top piece of parchment paper off the dough and flip over to place on top of pan. Peel remaining piece of parchment paper off the dough and begin gently pressing dough into pan. If dough begins to break off in pieces, no worries. Just press them back into place as best you can. It will all melt together like magic in the oven. The key is to work as quickly as you can and to not overwork the dough.
Step 4
Spread a thin 1/4 inch layer of the peach filling across the bottom of the cake.
Step 5
Remove pastry cream from the fridge and whisk until smooth. Spoon pastry cream on top of the peach filling and distribute evenly with a spatula.
Step 6
Roll out the second half of the dough using the same steps as the first half and place it over the filled tart pan. Press the edges of the top and bottom pieces of dough together and cut away any excess. Once finished, placed the cake into the fridge for 30 minutes and preheat oven to 360 °F (180 °C).
Step 7
Whisk together 1 egg and 1 tbsp (15 ml) water to create an egg wash and brush onto top of cake. Once complete, use a fork to create hash marks across the top similar to what's pictured on the right.
Step 8
Place cake into heated oven and bake until golden (about 40 minutes).
Step 9
Allow to cool to room temperature before slicing. If wrapped properly, the cake can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Enjoy!
I should also add that this cake gets even better the second day and was perfect for breakfast. And yes, I firmly believe cake is absolutely suitable to eat for breakfast.
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