In the Basque Country you can eat well, but the cuisine is not really very refined. In the mountains you often have to cook with what you have at home or with what is available. In winter you can not always go to the store. So you don’t have much choice. Yet there are many typical Basque desserts: the gâteau basque, the béret basque, the merveilles or oreilettes and the tourtière are some of them. Why not try them out for yourself?
Simplicity is good
Whoever says Basque Country says rugged mountains and remote areas. Few shops and few possibilities to vary a lot. With what is in the house and with what the animals and nature have to offer, tasty things can still be made. Tasty desserts for example!
Béret basque
A very simple recipe, but funny. The cake you get will draw a bit on the typical Basque hat with a lot of imagination. Convex and dark in color!
Ingredients
- a cake
- 200 gr black chocolate
- 150 gr butter
- 2 eggs
- 100 gr icing sugar
- cacao
- chocolate sprinkles
Preparation
Bake or buy a cake about 25 cm in diameter. Cut the cake in half lengthwise. Melt the chocolate in pieces au bain marie. Add the butter. Remove from heat and add the two egg yolks and the icing sugar. Let it cool down. In the meantime, beat the egg whites. Fold under the chocolate mixture. Apply half of the chocolate mixture to the bottom of the cake. Put the second half back on it. Fold the rest of the mixture onto the cake and make a convex shape, like a dome. Also apply some mixture on the sides. Sprinkle cocoa all over and then sprinkle the sprinkles. Place in the refrigerator so that the mixture stiffens well inside. A real calorie bomb, but tasty!
Merveilles
In other regions, this delicacy is also called oreillettes or bow ties, because you can fold the dough as you want before baking it. A fun recipe to make with children on a free afternoon or during a holiday. Be careful with the hot fat of course!
Ingredients
- 500 gr flour
- 4 eggs
- 100 gr sugar
- 125 gr butter
- 1 sachet of yeast
- salt
- grated lemon zest
- rhum or armagnac or orange blossom water
- powdered sugar
- oil
Preparation
Place the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Put the beaten eggs, the softened butter, a pinch of salt, the sugar, the lemon zest and any drink you want in the well. Mix everything together well. Then add the yeast. Knead well, the dough should be smooth. Sprinkle some flour on the work surface. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to about 5 millimeters thick. Now cut out figures: sticks, triangles, circles …. For bows you give the sticks a half turn in the middle, for oreilletes (ears) you fold two points of a triangle a bit. Heat the oil in a deep pan. Now put a number of figures in the oil, until they look golden brown. The dough will rise and blow mold in some places, but that’s okay, it just makes it nice and crispy. Let the figures drain well and then add icing sugar. Yummy!
Tourtière
Another specialty from the Basque Country, not very suitable for children due to the alcohol it contains.
Ingredients
- 350 gr flour
- 150 gr butter
- 150 gr sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 500 gr apples
- 500 gr of prunes
- 1/2 liter of red wine
- 10 cl armagnac
- 1 tablespoon of orange blossom water
- 1 packet of vanilla-flavored sugar
- 1/2 glass of water
- salt
Preparation
Put the flour in a bowl. Make a well and add a pinch of salt and half a glass of water. Make a ball and then roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a surface where you have sprinkled flour. Spread the melted butter with a brush. Turn the four corners and let rest for 20 minutes. Boil the prunes in the wine with 50 gr. sugar. Put aside. Peel and finely slice the apples. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar and the armagnac and orange blossom water. Stir well. Roll out the dough again and fold it in three folds. Repeat six more times and let rest for 10 minutes between each turn. Place 2/3 of the dough in a mold, leaving about two inches of board everywhere. Arrange the apple slices and the drained prunes in the tin. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Close the cake with the remaining piece of dough and fold the edges over it. Brush with the egg yolk and bake in a preheated oven at 180 ° for 45 minutes. Place a few more prunes in the middle as decoration.
Gâteau basque
A real typical delicacy from the Basque Country. Well, treat. You have to like it, because the gâteau basque is quite dry.
Ingredients for the dough
- 200 gr butter
- 200 gr sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 4 eggs
- 400 gr flour
- a teaspoon of yeast
- grated lemon zest
Ingredients for the crème pâtissière
- 1/4 liter of milk
- 1 egg
- 60 gr flour
- 65 gr sugar
- 2 teaspoons of rhum
- 1/2 stick of vanilla
Preparation
Put the butter with the sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Knead well. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, while stirring. The dough should be smooth. Then add the flour, lemon zest and yeast. Mix and keep the dough in a cool place. In the meantime, make the crème pâtissière: 1/4 liter of milk, 1 egg, 60 gr of flour, 65 gr of sugar, 2 teaspoons of rhum, mix 1/2 vanilla pod and stir well. When the cream is cold, you can roll out half of the dough about 1/2 cm and put it in a mold. Then add the crème pâtissière and close the cake with the other half of the dough. Brush with egg yolk and make a drawing with a fork. Bake for thirty minutes in an oven preheated to 200 °.
Tasty!