Gâteau basque

/ɡato bask/gah-TOH BAHSK

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Dessert
Labourd (Basque Country)

When: Teatime
Taste: SweetRich
Made with: Wheat & flourEggDairy & cheese

History

The gâteau basque is a traditional cake of the French Basque Country, typical of Labourd and part of Lower Navarre. In Basque it is called etxeko biskotxa, "cake of the house". It is made of a crisp, buttery shortcrust pastry, almost like a biscuit, enclosing a filling. The two classic fillings are black cherry jam and a pastry cream flavoured with almond or with rum and vanilla. In the Northern Basque Country, on the French side, cherry jam is the more traditional filling, while the cream version is more typical in the Southern Basque Country across the border in Spain. It is eaten as a dessert or with coffee, and keeps well for several days.

Sources

Gâteau Basque (Wikipedia) read 2026-11-01
Gâteau basque (fr Wikipedia) read 2026-11-01

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How to pronounce Gâteau basque

In the International Phonetic Alphabet it is /ɡato bask/. In plain English letters that is gah-TOH BAHSK, with the stress on the syllable in capitals. There is no recording by a native speaker yet, so use the spelling and the IPA.

What is Gâteau basque?

Gâteau basque is a dessert of France. Where it comes from: Labourd (Basque Country). People usually eat it at teatime. Its main ingredients are wheat & flour, egg and dairy & cheese. It tastes sweet and rich.

Where Gâteau basque comes from

Gâteau basque is one of 73 signature dishes of France on this map. See all dishes from Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

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Food of France

Dishes like Gâteau basque in other countries

Same type of dish and similar main ingredients as Gâteau basque:

Sobao pasiego · Dessert · Pas valleys (Cantabria), Spain
The sobao pasiego is a rich sponge cake from the Pas valleys of Cantabria, and one of the region's signature sweets.
Pastel de nata · Dessert · Belém, Lisbon, Portugal
The pastel de nata is a small tart of crisp, flaky pastry filled with egg custard and baked at very high heat until the top is scorched in spots.
Black Forest gateau Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte · Dessert · Black Forest (Baden-Württemberg), Germany
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, the Black Forest gateau, is a cream cake of chocolate sponge layers flavoured with Kirschwasser, the cherry brandy of the Black Forest, filled with cherries and whipped cream and finished with chocolate shavings.
Wuzetka · Dessert · Warsaw (Masovia), Poland
Wuzetka is a Warsaw cake: two layers of cocoa sponge filled with jam and whipped cream, covered with chocolate icing and topped with a swirl of cream.