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Black Sesame Gâteau Basque
Black Sesame Gâteau Basque
Hand-Crafted by Our Kitchen Team
In 2013, we began creating pastries at our small first chocolate factory on Valencia Street. The kitchen there was so tiny, it barely fit three people: Lisa, Mary, and Roman. Since then, our team has grown, and now we have two kitchens, one in San Francisco and one in Las Vegas. Our team travels the world to explore different cocoa origins, and to visit bakeries, restaurants, and events, seeking inspiration for new recipes that best highlight our single-origin chocolate.
How a 200-Year Basque Tradition Came to San Francisco
THE STORY
During a brainstorming session in 2020, our Pastry team set out to create a Dandelion version of a Gâteau Basque. They researched the traditional cake, and Pastry Chef Lisa stumbled across an NPR podcast in which her friend (and pastry icon!) Dorie Greenspan recounted driving along a winding road in French Basque country, and spotting a sign for a gâteau Basque museum.
Delving into the cake’s history, Lisa was intrigued by the pastry’s beauty and simplicity, and by the ritual of sharing cake with family around a table. Lisa and her team explored flavor ideas, and after weeks of recipe testing, perfected our unique all-chocolate Gâteau — baked using chocolate crafted by our 16th Street Chocolate Makers, just steps upstairs from Lisa’s factory kitchen.
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fork marks
Regionally known simply as “cake of the house,” a typical gâteau Basque is a rustic, textural cake filled with black cherry, almond cream, or plain pastry cream — and the top crust is fork-marked to identify its filling. (A cross, for example, might indicate cherry jam.) In our single-origin chocolate Gâteau, a rich, crisp-tender chocolate crust is scored with fork marks signaling the velvety chocolate pastry cream therein. We mark each cake by hand before it goes into the oven.
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SIMPLICITY AND CRAFT
Our Gâteau’s seemingly simple components — buttery chocolate sablé dough and smooth pastry cream — demand precision, and meticulous attention to detail. Every ingredient plays a vital role; and each step must be executed flawlessly, as even the smallest misstep would affect final flavor.
Pursuit of precision transforms the elemental into a work of art. Lisa notes that her team’s focus on simplicity mirrors our chocolate-making process: Pure, minimal ingredients allow craft itself to shine.
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MADE FOR SHARING
Our Gâteau Basque is made to bring people together. We hope you and yours will delight in gathering around your table to enjoy slices of cake, accompanied by coffee, hot chocolate, or flutes of Champagne.
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