GÂTEAU BRETON

Bretagne is the area of France I love the most (together with Provence).  I went there only once, as a child, but it was so breathtakingly beautiful that I remember it clearly.  I have the memory of eating a fantastic fish soup in a restaurant in the walled city of Saint-Malo, while it was raining cats and dogs outside… perfect pirate-like weather for a place that reminded me so much of pirates (well, corsairs to be precise).  I remember my parents buying fresh oysters and eating clafoutis.  And, above all, I remember wandering through the menhirs and dolmens around Carnac… it felt like Astérix or Obélix could jump out from behind them any time!
The recipe I am going to share with you today is from Bretagne and it is perfect to use up all your left-over egg yolks.  You know when you make macarons or pavlova and you are left with MANY yolks?  AND you do not have a lot of time to make blueberry curd or crème patissière?  Well, this cake will solve your “problem”.  I made it right after making the Pavlova I served for my “Come have some Aussie tucker, mate!” party and my girls LOVED it.  I must admit we all liked it… it is very hard to resist this buttery delight!  I took it from Lorraine’s site Not Quite Nigella… you can’t go wrong with anything she makes, I tell you!  Serve it for breakfast, tea time or as an after dinner treat and you will be in heaven!  For me, it also brought back very pleasant memories… sans corsairs! 🙂  Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Not Quite Nigella 

Ingredients (for a 23 to 25 cm – 9 to 10 inches round spring-form tin):

For the cake
225 gms – 8 oz. plain flour
250 gms – 8.8 oz. caster sugar
250 gms – 8.8 oz. cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes (plus some to grease the tin)
6 egg yolks

For the glaze
1 tsp of yolk from the above 6
1 tbsp water

Put the sifted flour, caster sugar, yolks (remember to keep 1 teaspoon of yolk aside for the glaze!) and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the hook attachment and knead for a few minutes, until you get a smooth dough.

Put the dough in the greased tin and smooth the top with a floured hand (it will be sticky).

Mix the teaspoon of yolk with the water to make the glaze and brush the top of the gâteau with it.  Make a lattice pattern on the top using the prongs of a fork.

Bake it in a pre heated oven at 190°C – 375°F for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180°C – 355°F and bake it for 25 minutes or until golden at the top and firm to the touch.