Gateau Breton

In France this cake is called a “gateau breton”, in England a “Brittany butter cake”, and in the Netherlands a “boterkoek”. Whichever name or language you prefer, it always looks the same; round and flat, with a lattice design on top, and it always tastes like 8 sticks of butter. Yum! For this reason you need to make sure you use high-quality butter (don’t even think about using margarine!). This is really one of those ‘perfect for tea-time’ cakes, though I must confess, I’ve been eating it for dessert with some vanilla ice cream as well. If you love butter cookies, like shortbread for instance, then you’ll devour this cake to the last crumb! Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Gateau Breton




Gateau Breton: Nigella Lawson - How To Be A Domestic Goddess
Ingredients for glaze:
- 1 teaspoon egg yolk, from your 6 (see below)
- 1 tablespoon water

Ingredients for cake:
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
- ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 6 large egg yolks

Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Mix the glaze, and put aside while you get on with your cake.
- Put the flour into a bowl, stir in sugar, and add the butter and egg yolks. With the dough-hook attachment of a mixer, slowly whirr till you’ve got a smooth, golden dough. (If you’re making this by hand, make a mound of the flour on a worktop, then make a well init and add the sugar, butter, and eggs and knead to mix.) Scoop this dough into the pan, and smooth the top with a floured hand: expect it to be very sticky, it should be,
- Brush the cake with the glaze, and mark a lattice design on top with the prongs of a fork. For a reason I am not technically proficient enough to explain, sometimes the tine marks leave a firm, striated imprint; at others, they barely show once the cake’s cooked. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350ºF, and give it another 25 minutes or so until it’s golden on top and firm to the touch.
- Let it cool completely in the pan before unmolding it. It’ll keep well if you’ve got a reliably airtight tin. When you come to eat it, either cut it in traditional-though slightly narrower-cakelike wedges or, as I prefer if I’m eating it at the end of dinner, crisscross, making irregularly sized diamonds.

Gateau Breton

Comments

Yay, and cake with my name in it! Your Brittany cake looks divine; the topping is cooked to perfection.
apparentlyjessy said…
Wow, TWO cups of butter! I am too afraid to try this one!
Chele said…
What a treat! Do you think it is possible to gain weight just be reading the ingredient list lol
Anonymous said…
It is delicious...
Have to try your recipe. Your pictures are beautiful!
Love your blog!
This looks so pretty, Danielle. I've been meaning to try it for a while. The amount of butter is a bit intimidating, but I swear I'll only eat a thin sliver (ha!).
Snooky doodle said…
thanks for passing by. this is making me mouthwatering :)
Omg sweety, this is amazing!! So glad all my voted recipes have been winning. I asked my aunty to buy butter just now and she brought back salted butter...SIGH. So will make this asap next week! Cant wait xx
Lucie said…
Looks perfect! I love the taste of nice, real butter :)
Lot-O-Choc said…
Ooh wow ive never heard of this before, it looks goood yumm!
Eliana said…
Sounds like 8 sticks of butter - sounds like a winner to me.
your "gâteau breton" looks great!! i'm on vacation in Brittany right now until the end of month so i'll eat lots of buttercakes (no diet allowed during summer, eh!!)
Do you know the famous britton "kouign amann" with tons of butter? it's sooo good!!! (but gaining weight just looking at it!! ahaha!!)
Anonymous said…
Correction on the recipe: the butter should be salted!! Brittany is very well known for its salted butter and the "real" gateau breton is made with this kind of butter. When I was living in France, I used "beurre de baratte demi-sel"... so yummy. In US, I just use salted-butter: it's not as good, but it is still a winner!!
Larry j said…
I made it this week...everyone loved it..the older it gets (Up to a week) the better it tastes!
Paris Pastry said…
@Larry J: Does it? It doesn't last that long whenever I make it :P!

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