This French dessert is made of a sturdy, buttery cake and filled with pastry cream. I make my gâteau Basque with mango pastry cream for a refreshing kick!

I’ve been going easy on myself lately. For one, it’s been hot and smoky in San Francisco. The fires have made it difficult to be active, and the heat is repelling me from touching the oven if I can help it. I’ve gone soft, I know—at one of the restaurants I worked at, the kitchen would clock in at 92 degrees during the summer, and dinner service ain’t gonna stop just cuz you’re feeling hot.

I also had to get an endoscopy AND colonoscopy to see if there were any internal issues causing my anemia (more on my condition here). For those of you who have gotten one of these procedures, y’all know how much it sucks. No eating/drinking to purge my system, and when I could start eating again, I threw it all up, which is SO SAD.

The good news: everything came back normal, and after some rest and hyration, I’m back on my game.

This gâteau Basque comes from Basque country (duh), in southwestern France. It seems like the best desserts come from the Basque region—remember this cheesecake?

Similar to the gâteau Breton, this pastry is made of a sturdy, buttery cake, like a rich, crumbly pâte sablee. It’s traditionally filled with cherry jam or else pastry cream; you’ll know what you’re getting by the pattern marked on top. If the top is scratched with a criss-cross, it’s filled with pastry cream. Otherwise, jam is your jam.

I’ve always wanted to brighten this cake up so finally I did it. Lemon zest in the dough, and mango in the pastry cream. And let me tell you, don’t skimp on this mango pastry cream. It’s rich, bright, and refreshing, a perfect compliment to the sturdy cake.

Yes, this is not a one-bowl recipe. A good gâteau Basque takes time to make. There are multiple sequences of refrigeration needed, but these steps are crucial to make sure the the cake stays intact. Otherwise you can end up with pastry cream leaking out of the cake and that would be sadder than me after an endoscopy.

I love recipes like this that stretch me. I get to practice good technique and also relive the glory days of France. And like the good Indian I am, I stan for anything mango, and I’m already scheming on how else I can use this mango pastry cream in desserts. Make a weekend project out of this gâteau Basque with mango pastry cream and you won’t be disappointed.

Gâteau Basque with Mango Pastry Cream

Created by Shikha on August 18, 2020

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Ingredients

For cake:

151 grams (1 stick + 4 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temp
200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
420 grams (3.5 cups) AP flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Zest from 1 lemon

For mango pastry cream:

290 grams (2 cups) whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
100 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
125 grams (1/2 cup) mango puree
60 grams (little less than 1/2 cup) cornstarch

Assembly:

1 egg for egg wash

Instructions

For cake:

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time. Stop the mixer after each addition to scrape down the bowl.
Add the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt all at once. Reduce mixer speed to low, and mix until the dough comes together—do not overmix! The dough will be soft and sticky, that\'s okay.
Divide the dough into two discs, with one slightly larger than the other. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

For mango pastry cream:

Put the milk and vanilla in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
While milk is heating, put the egg yolks in a separate bowl and add the sugar and mango puree. Whisk well, then add cornstarch and continue to whisk until well combined. Keep a large clean bowl nearby.
Temper hot milk into egg/sugar mixture—whisk the egg mixture constantly while slowly pouring in about a cup of the hot milk. Then add everything back to the saucepan, continuing to whisk (this is to prevent the eggs from cooking). Keep whisking (good arm workout!) over medium heat until the mixture is thick and you can see whisk lines clearly forming, which should take a few minutes.
Pour into the large clean bowl. Take a sheet of plastic wrap and place directly onto the pastry cream surface - this is to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until the pastry cream comes to room temperature (ideally chilled, but room temp is okay).

For assembly:

Spray a 9-inch springform pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the larger disk of dough into a 12-inch circle. If it\'s too sticky, just place it directly into the pan, and press it into the bottom and all the way up the sides. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Pour cooled pastry cream into prepared crust, and refrigerate for another least 30 minutes.
Roll the smaller dough disc into a 9-inch circle. Place over filling, and crimp the edges so it\'s completely sealed, trimming excess dough as needed. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon water and remaining 1 egg. Brush top of dough with egg wash and use a fork to make a criss-cross pattern.
Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F, and bake 20-25 minutes more. Cover the top with foil if it starts to brown too much. Let cake cool completely, then serve at room temperature or preferably, when it\'s chilled.