Basque cake

Our Basque cakes come in four delicious fillings. Considered by most to be the “real” Basque cake, the Basque cake with lightly rum-flavoured custard is a great classic.

The other Basque icon is the black cherry Basque cake, a reminder of our childhood and that of our ancestors. Then there are more original but equally delicious creations like the chocolate Basque cake, filled with a delicious chocolate custard, and our now famous apricot-nut Basque cake (filled with a compote of apricots and walnuts).

The Basque cake, known in Basque as ‘etxeko bixkotxa’, literally means ‘home-made cake’. This now-famous family recipe is attributed to Marianne Hirigoyen, a pastry chef from Cambo-les-Bains in the 19th century.

She made a cake called ‘Bixkotxa’ (cake in Basque), which was both crunchy and soft. It quickly became a victim of its own success, attracting curious locals and important figures such as Napoleon III and Eugénie de Montijo in 1856 and 1858.

This recipe, originally known as ‘Cambo cake’ and invented by the woman who was also known as ‘the cake Basquaise’, was mainly made at home until the end of the 19th century, before arriving on the shelves of many confectioners in the Basque Country in the 20th century.

We're not going to reveal our recipe to you today, but rather share with you its ingredients, which we select carefully to guarantee the quality and taste of our cakes. Our recipes are handed down from generation to generation in our family, as well as to a handful of trusted collaborators.

Butter, eggs, flour, almond powder, sugar and salt. The simplicity of the Basque cake is its charm. Our eggs come from a farm in the Gers where the hens are raised in the open air. The almonds, also the main ingredient in our macaroons, come from Spain and are of the Valencia variety. We source our flour from a miller in Ustaritz in the Basque Country. Our butter comes from the north of France.

For the fillings, our cherries are exclusively French, and we use milk from the Spanish Basque Country, just a few dozen kilometres from our laboratory. The chocolate used for the chocolate version of our Basque cake comes from the same great cocoa vintages as the chocolates of our master chocolatiers.

Generosity and sharing, especially over a good Basque cake, are values we hold dear at Maison Adam. That's why the fillings on our cakes are so generous. Although they are easily recognised by their Basque cross (Lauburu in Basque), we could recognise them with our eyes closed simply by their gourmet fillings.

The Basque cake was originally a travel cake. The filling is protected by the surrounding biscuit, which means that once your Basque cake has been baked, it can be kept at room temperature for up to 5 days (although it rarely spends the whole day in the hands of those with a sweet tooth). This is the case for our four versions: the Basque cake with custard, the Basque cake with black cherry, the Basque cake with chocolate and the Basque cake with apricot and walnut.

To preserve its flavour and the unique texture of its shortcrust pastry for as long as possible, we recommend keeping your Basque cake in its packaging and in a cool, dry place.

If you choose to keep your Basque cake in the fridge, remember to take it out at the beginning of the meal so that it will have all its flavour when you serve dessert.

When you order online, it's normal to wonder about the packaging of a product so that it withstands transport and arrives safely intact. We have set up an efficient packaging system for our Basque cakes.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, when we bake your Basque cakes at dawn, just a few hours before dispatch to guarantee incomparable freshness, we carefully pack your Basque cakes.

Each cake is individually wrapped with a cardboard base in ‘greaseproof’ paper. This is a food-safe paper that protects the Basque cake, in our shop in Biarritz or Saint- Jean-de-Luz or in our online shop. The cake is then placed in a metal box specially designed to hold our Basque cakes, which fits the shape of the Basque cake perfectly and prevents any movement inside the box while protecting it from external shocks.

Like many of our customers, you can collect these tins or reuse them to store other products