Basque cake filled with figs and cream

When Beatriz, author of To Be Gourmet , told me that she wanted to make the Basque Cake recipe for our blog, I didn't hesitate to say "Go ahead!", because it's one of my favorite cakes. I've always loved that delicious cream-filled pastry! She presents it with a double filling: figs and pastry cream , a luxurious combination in a cake that you'll surely love to prepare at home, you'll see!

The “Pastel Vasco” is one of my favourite sweets. Its origins lie in the farmhouses of the Basque Country, where it was made with a dough made from butter, flour and almonds and filled with whatever fruit was in season at the time. Cherries were very typical, as were berries; blackberries, blueberries, and of course figs.

Later, custard was added and over time, fruit was eliminated. I still like the recipe that includes both. I love making it homemade from start to finish; going to the market and making the dessert myself with the fruit.

Now in the north we have green figs called “lady’s neck” which are pure honey. To make the cut of the cake more attractive I like to add a handful of blackberries and this way the jam takes on a beautiful red hue.

A delicacy that you will find in the best bakeries in the Basque Country and for which we bring you the original recipe today.

De Buyer copper saucepan , cutting board , Le Creuset Damascus steel knife and Emile Henry ceramic mould .

Ingredients

• 200gr of very cold butter
• 300gr of flour
• 150gr of sugar
• 60gr of ground almonds
• 2 eggs
• Salt
• Another egg to brush the cake
• Oil to grease the mold

For the cream:

• 400ml whole milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 40gr of sugar
• 50gr of flour
• 2 eggs
• 50gr of butter

For the fig jam:

• 300gr of figs (or 250gr of figs and 50gr of blackberries)
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 50/75ml of water

Emile Henry ceramic mold , Le Creuset Damascus steel knife and French De Buyer mineral iron pan .

Preparation

Pastry cream

1. We put part of the milk in a glass and in it we dilute the flour, vanilla, sugar and eggs.
2. In a saucepan over the heat, put the remaining milk and the cinnamon. When it boils, add the previous mixture, stirring with the help of a whisk , and bring to the boil again.
3. We keep it for a couple of minutes and finally add the butter.
4. We reserve the pastry cream covered with transparent film flush with the surface.

Fig jam

1. In a saucepan or frying pan, place the peeled and finely chopped figs and a handful of blackberries to give more color.
2. Add the sugar and half of the water and let it cook over low heat while stirring occasionally.
3. When it needs more liquid, add the remaining water. The cooking time is approximately half an hour. The fruit should be caramelized and thick.

The cake

1. We put the butter in the freezer half an hour before starting to handle it.
2. In a wide, open bowl , place the flour with the almonds, sugar and salt and add the frozen butter cut into cubes.
3. Using a fork or mortar, mix all the ingredients.
4. We beat the eggs separately and then add them to the previous mixture and integrate little by little.
5. Now we have the dough ready, and it is then that we wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for 1 hour or 1.5 hours so that when it is time to roll it out it is cold again.
6. We take the dough out of the fridge and divide it into two parts. One of them will be used to cover the cake, and the other to form the base. We return the first one to the fridge to keep it cold.
7. Place a sheet of cling film on the work surface and place the dough you are going to roll out on top. Cover it with another sheet and shape it into a circle about 5mm thick.
8. We place the formed dough on a ceramic mould such as the one from Emile Henry (greased with oil) so that we cover the base and the sides.
9. We put the mold with the dough back in the refrigerator for about 10/15 minutes.
10. We fill it with the cream that we have reserved and the jam on top.
11. We spread out the dough that we had reserved to cover the cake, in the same way as we did with the base, and place it on top of the previous dough, sealing the sides with our fingers.
12. To finish, we brush with egg.
13. We can draw some lines first in one direction and then in the other with the help of a very sharp knife . They are very characteristic of this cake.
14. Finally, place it in the oven preheated to 180º for about 40 minutes. Allow to cool and serve directly from the mould, either warm or cold.

Le Creuset Damascus Steel Knife and iron ore barn French De Buyer .

Tips

• If at any time the dough sticks to our hands too much, the solution is to put it in the refrigerator, or even in the freezer, for a moment.
• The stripes are easier to draw if you put the cake in the fridge for a few minutes. While you are drawing them, and depending on how warm it is in the room, you can refrigerate it several times; a couple of minutes in the freezer is enough.
• If we clean the knife with kitchen paper every time we draw a line, it will be easier to avoid dragging the dough and the lines will be better drawn.
• It is easier to work the dough by placing it between two sheets of cling film, so that it does not stick to the rolling pin and can be easily transferred to the mould.