Light Cherry Gâteau Basque

📝 Ingredients

• 220 g plain flour
• 60 g ground almonds
• 130 g caster sugar (100 for the dough, 30 for the cherries)
• 90 g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 eggs (1 whole + 1 white for the dough, 1 yolk for the glaze)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 lemon (zest for the dough, juice of half for the cherries)
• 600 g fresh cherries (about 500 g once stoned)
• 15 g cornflour
• 1 tbsp semi-skimmed milk (for glazing)

🍴 Utensils

• 22 cm round cake tin + baking paper
• Mixing bowl
• Saucepan
• Whisk + spatula
• Rolling pin
• Pastry brush

📖 Steps

1. Wash and stone the cherries, using a cherry stoner or by halving them with a knife. In the saucepan, mix 30 g sugar with the cornflour (the sugar prevents lumps), then add the cherries and the juice of ½ lemon.
2. Cook over a medium heat for 8 to 10 min, stirring, until the juice boils and thickens into a thick, glossy compote. Pour it into a bowl and leave to cool completely in the fridge: if it's still warm, it would melt the dough.
3. In the mixing bowl, whisk the softened butter with 100 g sugar for 2 min, until pale. Add the whole egg, the white of the second egg and the lemon zest, then mix. Keep the yolk in a small bowl for the glaze.
4. Add the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt, then mix with the spatula just until you have a smooth, soft and slightly sticky dough. Divide it into two balls (⅔ and ⅓), flatten them, wrap in baking paper and chill for 30 min in the fridge.
5. Preheat the oven to 180 °C and line the base of the tin with baking paper. Roll out the larger ball between two sheets of baking paper into a 28 cm disc (5 mm thick) and use it to line the base and sides of the tin; mend any cracks by pinching the dough together.
6. Spread the well-chilled compote over the base, leaving a 1 cm border all round. Roll out the smaller ball into a 22 cm disc, lay it on top and seal the edges by pinching them firmly so the filling can't escape.
7. Mix the yolk with the milk and brush it all over the top. Score a criss-cross pattern with the tines of a fork, without piercing the pastry, then make a small hole in the centre to let the steam escape.
8. Bake for 40 min, until the cake is nicely golden; lower to 170 °C if the top browns too quickly. Leave to cool completely in the tin, at least 1 h, then run a knife around the edge before turning out: while warm, it breaks easily.