Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Gateau Breton



Gateau Breton from Rose's Heavenly Cakes is a buttery treat that far exceeds the simple ingredients.  Almonds, sugar, cultured butter, eggs, vanilla, flour and optional kirsch or rum (I used water) baked together transform into a cake-like shortbread pound cake, with a flavor reminiscent of Madeleines.


Our veterinarian was selling an abundance of his own chickens' fresh eggs; perfect for the Gateau.


Organic Valley offers this seasonal butter between May and September.  It was on sale at Whole Foods.
Into the Gateau it went with a little Straus butter from my dream dairy. 

Ginger Elizabeth coincidentally offered a Pate Breton cake for Mother's Day, similar to a Gateau Breton.
It was described as "Earl Grey Infused Chocolate Custard Cream, local orange curd on a crispy Pate Breton crust.  This lovely tart features Valrhona's Tainori couverture-a wonderful 64% bittersweet chocolate from the Dominican Republic.  $38.00"

For fun, I mixed up a batch of orange curd via Rose's instructions and dark chocolate custard cream lightened with whipped cream, then brewed a cup of Earl Grey.  This cake needs nothing, it is simply stunning on its own.  Adorned with orange curd and Lindt dark chocolate custard cream, it is out of this world plus covered the San Andreas fault that ran through my little Gateau.  I brazenly thought flipping it without two cake racks would be easy and of course, it broke in half. This provided a perfect excuse to cut and trim and nibble the fault line.  Rose's recipe is a definite keeper.




Here's an interesting post on how to make butter.  I wonder if this could possibly qualify for European style high fat when it's hard to find or outrageously expensive?
  


6 comments:

  1. Love the way you described the cake and paired with orange curd and lindt dark chocolate sounds even more delicious!

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  2. Orange curd, dark chocolate custard, and Earl Grey? I'll be right over! :D

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  3. What a lovely interpretation!

    :)
    ButterYum

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  4. YUM! I wondered if chocolate would be too much for this cake, but you have put my fears to rest. I'll be sure to try this combination!

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  5. You know what? Amazing. Who "just whips up some orange curd and dark chocolate cream" to go with their cake and tea? And yours probably cost a lot less than $38 and tasted better!

    Love your photos... that sun looks amazing. And I especially love your table cloth. Did you whip that up too?

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  6. I always adore reading your posts! mmmm orange curd and a nibble of a fault line-I love when I have to do that!
    Posted your package this week!! Hope it arrives safely.

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