Basque Cake with Cherry Preserves Recipe

This Basque Cake with Cherry Preserves Recipe is a buttery and tender recipe, which is made with cake flour and sour cherry preserves. It’s an elegant European dessert, ready in about 1 hour 30 minutes.

Jump to Recipe

Basque Cake with Cherry Preserves Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1/3 cup sour cherry preserves
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, optional
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

How To Make Basque Cake with Cherry Preserves Recipe

1. Prep the Oven and Pan: Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Butter a 10-inch cake pan or spring-form pan generously.
2. Cream Butter, Sugar, and Eggs: In the bowl of a mixer with a whip attachment, beat the softened butter until creamy. Gradually beat in the granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Finally, beat in the vanilla extract.
3. Make the Cake Dough: Sift the cake flour, salt, and baking powder together. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until a soft, sticky dough forms and no white streaks of flour remain.
4. Assemble the Base Layer: Spread half of the batter evenly across the bottom of the prepared pan. Because the dough is sticky, it helps to use an offset spatula dipped in warm water.
5. Add the Filling: In a small bowl, stir the almond extract into the sour cherry preserves. Spoon the preserves over the batter, spreading it evenly but leaving about a 2-inch border from the edge of the pan to prevent leaking.
6. Add the Top Layer: Drop the remaining batter by large spoonfuls over the preserves. Carefully spread the batter to cover the jam and meet the edge of the pan to seal it in. Sprinkle the top with sliced almonds, if using.
7. Bake and Cool: Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the top is golden and a bamboo skewer inserted into the cake part (avoiding the jam center) comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
8. Finish and Serve: Once cool, unmold the cake and dust the top generously with confectioners’ sugar before slicing and serving.

Recipe Tips

• What is a Basque Cake (Gâteau Basque)? This is a traditional dessert from the Basque region of France/Spain. It falls somewhere between a cake and a tart. The dough is quite stiff and buttery, almost like a soft cookie dough, which encases a filling of pastry cream or, in this case, fruit preserves.
• Why use cake flour? Cake flour has less protein than all-purpose flour. This ensures the cake has a very fine, tender crumb that melts in your mouth, rather than being tough or bread-like.
• How to handle sticky batter: The batter is supposed to be thick and sticky. Do not add more flour. Use the back of a wet spoon or an offset spatula to help spread it over the jam without dragging the jam into the dough.
• The importance of the border: Leaving a 2-inch border of plain dough around the edge prevents the jam from bubbling out and burning against the side of the pan.

What To Serve With Basque Cake

This elegant, understated cake is perfect for tea time or dessert.

• A cup of hot tea or coffee
• A dollop of crème fraîche or unsweetened whipped cream
• Fresh cherries on the side

How To Store Basque Cake

• Room Temperature: This cake stores very well at room temperature due to the high butter content. Keep it in an airtight container or cake dome for up to 3 days.
• Freeze: You can freeze the baked, cooled cake. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Basque Cake with Cherry Preserves Nutrition Facts

(Per slice, assuming 10 slices)

• Calories: ~420 kcal
• Total Fat: 20g
• Saturated Fat: 12g
• Cholesterol: 105mg
• Sodium: 160mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 55g
• Dietary Fiber: 1g
• Sugars: 35g
• Protein: 5g

Nutrition information is estimated and may vary based on ingredients and cooking methods used.

FAQs