Gateau Breton

Dearest Michelle,

I love, love, love The Country Cooking of France. For weeks after you gave it to me, I've been itching to sit down and read it through, but had been thwarted by life until this week. Finally, a couple of days ago, I was able to deposit myself on the couch with a cup of tea and minimal procrastinatory guilt to read it cover to cover. It is a gorgeous book, one of those that would be equally appropriate on a coffee table or on a bookshelf devoted to serious cookbooks. The photos are lovely, and the blurbs about different regions and ingredients make entertaining reading. And then, there are so many recipes in there that I want to make! I was bookmarking those that I liked particularly, but that soon became redundant.

A few recipes jumped out at me immediately, among them that for gateau Breton. I was waffling between baking that or a lemon tart (a long-time favorite), but the gateau was a little easier to make, and required fewer ingredients. There is no image to go with the recipe in the book, but the description grabbed me,

"A cross between pound cake and shortbread, Gateau Breton seems to me richer and more luscious than either."

Who could resist that? I'm sure glad I didn't; this is something I will make again. It is buttery like a shortbread, but rich with the egg yolks and therefore more tender to the bite, with barely a touch of crunch in the top due to the glaze. Eaten immediately (and, no, we didn't wait till it had cooled completely, though you are supposed to), it seems a touch sweet, but the next day the flavors were perfectly balanced. Supposedly, it gets even better with age, and can be kept for up to two weeks, but this one barely made it three days. Someday I'd like to see how the flavors further develop. Maybe the trick is to hide it somewhere.


While this gateau is perfect on its own, I couldn't help but think of pairings for it. I ate it for breakfast yesterday with strawberry jam (delicious) and a cup of maccha green tea, and I bet it would be equally as good with lemon curd. One of my friends suggested incorporating almond paste, which would also be tasty. Almond flour, substituted in for some of the all-purpose, would be interesting too. Mostly, I'd like to use this dough as tart crust, which it's not far from. I don't know that I'll mess with the gateau itself, as much as incorporate the recipe into something new; any additions would make it other than what it is, so perfect in its purity.


Gateau Breton

from The Country Cooking of France by Anne Willan, pg 293

Note: This is incredibly easy to make, and well worth it. I loved how the book has the weight of ingredients marked; if you don't have a kitchen scale I'd highly recommend getting one. It takes all of the guesswork out of measuring flour. That is, of course, if the recipe notes the weight. I imagine that the butter, egg yolks, and sugar could be mixed most of the way in a separate bowl for ease and incorporated with the flour afterward, but I made it in the method detailed below which was not difficult. The author notes that if you do not use salted butter, 1/2 t salt should be added to the flour.



1 c /225g salted butter, soft but not VERY soft
6 egg yolks, room temp, beaten to mix but not beyond
2 c / 250 g flour
1 c / 200g sugar
1 T Calvados or rum ( optional- I omitted due to convenience)

8 inch tart pan with fluted rim and removable base



Butter tart pan ( I use a brush, which is easy and consistent) and set aside 1 t egg yolk for the glaze. Sift flour onto work surface and sweep a large well in the surface with your hand (larger than you'd think). Cube butter and add to center with sugar, yolks, and booze, if using. Work these together with fingers into a paste. Using fingers and heels of your hands, work in flour and work dough gently 'til smooth. It should be sticky at this point and should be mixed with the use of a pastry scraper.






Transfer dough to the pan and smooth the top with your hand, dipped in water so it does not stick. Brush the surface with the reserved egg yolk and mark a lattice in the glaze with the tines of a fork. Chill until firm, at least 20 m. Meanwhile, heat oven to 375F/ 190C.

Put tart pan on baking sheet before setting in oven. Bake 20 m. Reduce heat to 350F/180C and bake until cake is firm and golden brown, and the edges shrink from the sides of the pan, 20-25m longer. Let cool till tepid, then free it from the pan to a rack to finish cooling. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if you are so inclined.

It's as good freshly baked as it is saved in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, when the texture softens and the butter flavor deepens.