This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe from Baking Chez Moi was a one I was intrigued by. I mean, I love a good Gâteau Basque but wasn’t sure about the whole idea of filling it with dried fruits and nuts – I mean, why mess with a perfectly good dessert, right? The traditional filling is jam or pastry cream – the “fantasie” part of the name refers to exactly this – messing with tradition (the French use it to describe things that are not made exactly as they should be according to tradition).
Dorie’s filling calls for apples, grapes, dried cherries and toasted nuts. I used apples, dried cranberries and toasted pumpkin seeds because that’s what I had on hand. I made 1/4 of the dough – enough for one tiny gâteau that I ended up making and shaping in a small pie dish because the dough was so soft. It looked more like a pie than a Gâteau Basque but I preferred that than a fall-y-apart-y dessert!
It just about held together… (you can see the cracks in the pastry above)
When I cut into it, the dough was so soft that it fell apart… The filling is really wet too which didn’t help…
This tasted absolutely amazing – buttery and fruity – but didn’t remind me of a Gâteau Basque. I think I prefer the original but this, as a fruit pie, did pretty well!
Get the recipe for Dorie Greenspan’s Gâteau Basque Fantasie on page 110 of Baking Chez Moi!
Tuesdays with Dorie participants don’t publish the recipes on our blogs, so you’re encouraged to purchase Baking Chez Moi for yourself which you can do on Amazon (this link should bring you to the Amazon store in your country) or for free worldwide shipping, buy from The Book Depository. Then join us, baking our way through the book!
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I agree – this was so delicious. Just a shame the pastry is so delicate but boy, is it good pastry.
It is funny that mine was sturdy but the dough was so sticky in the making of it. Glad you enjoyed it!
this did taste amazing– i really love that crust!
We loved this one too and most thought the crust was the best part.
I prefer the original too. Love the crust!