For this new recipe, I have once again taken a classic French pastry on a journey to Japan. However, this delicious matcha cherry Basque cake retains the texture and elements of the traditional recipe:

• A crispy crust around the edges, melt-in-the-mouth in the centre, and a buttery taste.
• A pastry cream (the little fantasy found here) with matcha.
• Black cherry jam.

I love Basque cakes realised with cream and jam, they're always more indulgent, and it's even more interesting here because the matcha goes perfectly with the cherry flavour.
Bonus: I added lemon zest to the cake batter, which makes it very, very, very flavoursome!

The recipe is for an 18 cm cherry matcha Basque cake. We will use ultra-premium organic premium matcha.

The recipe for Basque cherry matcha cake

Matcha pastry cream

• 165g of organic whole milk
• 6g of ultra-premium organic premium matcha
• 1 organic egg yolk
• 30g organic powdered sugar
• 20g organic cornstarch

Basque cake batter

• 125g organic softened butter
• 40g organic muscovado sugar (or other whole sugar)
• 40g organic brown sugar
• A nice pinch of salt
• Zest of 1/2 organic lemon
• 50g organic egg yolks
• 180g of organic T55 flour
• 2g organic baking powder
• A little matcha to realise the Basque cross on top

+ Good quality black cherry jam: minimum 60g of fruit per 100g of product.

Matcha cherry Basque cake recipe

Matcha pastry cream

Bring the whole milk to a boil with the matcha, whisking when the milk begins to heat up to dissolve the matcha. At the same time, blanch the egg yolk with the powdered sugar and add the cornstarch. Pour the boiling milk over this mixture, mixing well, and return everything to the saucepan. Cook at a boil for about one minute, whisking constantly.

Transfer the matcha pastry cream to a container, cover with plastic wrap and let cool to room temperature. You can place it in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process, but it does not need to be cold, just at room temperature.

Basque cake batter

Using a food processor (with a blade attachment) or by hand, cream the softened butter with the brown sugar, brown sugar, salt, and lemon zest.

Add the egg yolks, mix, then incorporate the flour with the baking powder without overworking the dough.

Take 25g of dough and knead it with a pinch of matcha to make it coloured. Roll it out thinly between two sheets of baking paper to a diameter of about 8 cm (so that you have enough space to cut out the Basque pattern) and place in the freezer.

Divide the remaining dough into two parts, one slightly larger than the other.

Use your fingers to spread the smallest portion evenly in an 18 cm circle and place it in the freezer.

Still using your fingers, spread the second half in another well-buttered 18 cm pie crust, bringing it up around the edges like a pie crust.

Soften the matcha pastry cream, place it in a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle, and pipe it inside. Cover the cream with about three generous tablespoons of black cherry jam.

Remove the dough disc from the freezer and close the Basque cake. Place the flat surface facing up and press down firmly on the edges to seal the two halves of the dough together.

Apply a little egg yolk with a brush over the entire surface of the matcha cherry Basque cake.

Bake at 180°C for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 160°C and continue baking for 45 minutes. During baking, when the small circle of matcha dough that has been placed in the freezer is hard, use a small knife to cut out the Basque pattern, return it to the freezer, and place it on the matcha cake 10 minutes before the end of baking.

Allow the matcha cherry Basque cake to cool before removing the ring mold. Then let it cool completely for at least 6 hours at room temperature before tasting.

Enjoy your creation and enjoy the tasting! 😀

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