Breton Butter Cake Is The Classic French Dessert Resembling Shortbread
The region of Brittany is the most northwesterly region in France. A rugged peninsula that juts out into the North Atlantic, Brittany has long been regarded as one of France's most important centers of agriculture. Many famous culinary staples come from this region, including the galette compléte, hard cider, pork rillettes, sardines, and, most importantly, butter. Not only is butter the star ingredient of many pastries made by the region's residents, the Bretons, but it is also front and center in perhaps their most popular dessert, the Breton butter cake, also known as gâteau Breton or kouign-amann.
Despite being beloved in Brittany, it is a rarity to see Breton butter cake tables outside of France. However, the "Great British Baking Show" presented it as a technical challenge in season five.
The buttery, flaky, shortbread-like dessert is an absolute masterpiece of Breton cuisine, characterized by its caramelization, rich flavor, crumbly texture, and salty bite. But there are adaptations that change up the technique, but keep the same base of ingredients. The textures you can get from each version are simply astounding, and you can very easily make Breton butter cake desserts with the ingredients you have in your pantry.
Read more: 29 French Dishes You Need To Try At Least Once
A Rich Buttery History
The gâteau Breton cake debuted in 1863 at the Paris Universal Exhibition. Judges were so taken by its buttery flavor and shortbread-like consistency, that it won first prize and went on to become a staple beloved by generations of Bretons.
Now, kouign-amann, which is Breton parlance for "butter cake," can take on a different texture than the traditional gâteau Breton. Kouign-amann can be more texturally similar to a croissant than shortbread. This comes about from the process of lamination, in which cold butter is rolled in between layers of bread dough. Kouign-amann and gâteau Breton can both be served as a single, dense, and highly buttery cake, but kouign-amann is also found as a single pastry that is beautifully crisp thanks to its sugary topping and air pockets.
There is no frosting to speak of on either a gâteau Breton or kouign-amann, as they are already rich and buttery. The dessert can be stuffed with a filling of apricot or plum jam to add a bit of textural complexity and fruit flavor.
How Breton Butter Cake Is Made
When making gâteau Breton at home, the butter you use is essential to the success of making the dish. Breton butter is, obviously, the best and most traditional. However, any rich, high-quality European butter with high cream and fat content will work. The remaining ingredients -- sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and egg -- can all be sourced from your pantry.
The cake takes a little over an hour to make, including prep and baking. All of the ingredients are mixed together to form a sturdy dough. This dough is flattened in a single, even layer in a cake pan before being refrigerated for 15 minutes. You could also spread half of the dough down as a base, add your jam filling, and then spread over the remaining dough. After resting in the fridge, the egg wash is applied and the cake is set to bake in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven until golden brown, between 40 to 45 minutes.
After the cake has cooled and been removed from the pan, you can slice it into wedges and serve it alongside some evening coffee or tea as a decadent dessert. We can guarantee that neither you nor your company will be disappointed.
Read the original article on Tasting Table.
