Breton Butter Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and salt; beat just until combined. Do not overmix.
• Transfer batter to 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom; with small offset spatula, spread batter and smooth top. (If necessary, chill batter 10 minutes before smoothing.) Place pan in refrigerator 15 minutes.
• Remove from refrigerator. Brush top with beaten egg, and mark a criss-cross pattern with a fork. Brush again with egg. Bake until cake is deep golden brown and edges pull away from sides of pan, about 50 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Remove cake from pan, and slice while still warm. Serve with strawberry compote.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. When dissolved, mix in 1/2 cup of the flour with your fingers, rubbing them together to break up any lumps. Cover with a barely dampened towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the remaining 1 3/4 cups of flour and the salt. Add the yeast mixture and mix together with the tips of your fingers. Gradually sprinkle in the lukewarm water, mixing with your fingers to make a pliable dough. If the water is all mixed in and the dough still seems dry, add another tablespoon of water. Knead until smooth, about 4 minutes. Return the dough to the large bowl, cover with the damp towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and dust the top with flour. Roll into a rectangle about the same size as a sheet of paper (8 1/2 by 11-inches). Turn the rectangle so that it is vertical to your body. Dot the lower 2/3 of the dough with the pieces of butter and sprinkle with sugar. Working as though you are folding a letter, and folding the top down first, fold the dough in thirds. Roll out the folded dough into a rectangle, 8 1/2 by 11 inches. Fold in 3 again in the same way, cover with the damp towel, and let rest 15 minutes. Roll into a rectangle again, fold in 3, cover with the damp towel, and let rest 15 minutes. One last time, roll into a rectangle, fold in 3, cover with the damp towel, and let rest 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400-degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan. Roll the dough into a circle about 9 inches in diameter. Transfer to the prepared pan. Using a sharp knife or razor blade, make a cross-hatch pattern across the top of the cake (like a tic-tac-toe board). Bake for 20 minutes, brushing the top every 5 minutes with the melted butter that oozes out from the cake. Sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar and continue baking (do not baste) until golden brown on the top but still moist inside, about 10 minutes more. Let cool on a rack until the crust is caramelized and slightly crispy. Wash strawberries in cold water, allow the berries to drain. Combine the egg white and water and foam up mixture with a whisk. Dip the strawberries in the foam and then dip in superfine sugar. Arrange the frosted strawberries in the center of the cake. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm, cut into wedges.
• *RAW EGG WARNING
• Food Network Kitchens suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs due to the slight risk of Salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly-refrigerated, clean, grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch springform pan.
• Mix 1 teaspoon egg yolk and water in a small bowl. Set aside for glazing the cake.
• Combine remaining egg yolks, flour, butter, sugar, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Mix with an electric mixer until dough is stiff and sticky, similar to cookie dough. Knead dough a little bit to bring it together.
• Press dough into the prepared pan with your hands. Brush glaze on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking until golden brown, about 25 minutes more. Cool for 10 minutes. Slice cake crosswise.

Steps:

• In a small pot over medium-high heat, combine prunes, rum and 2 tablespoons water. (Use 1 cup/240 milliliters water if using dried apricots.) Cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed (about 5 minutes for prunes, 10 to 15 for apricots). Use a fork to mash into a thick purée. Cover and chill.
• In a food processor, pulse to combine flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add 5 egg yolks and pulse until mixture comes together as a dough. Divide in half, form into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 2 hours or until firm.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. Between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap, roll one of the dough halves into an 8-inch circle. Transfer dough to prepared cake pan, pressing into edges. Spread prune or apricot purée across dough, leaving 3/4 inch border around outside edge. Roll second piece of dough into an 8-inch circle, transfer to cake pan, press around outside edge to stick the pieces together and seal in fruit purée.
• In a small bowl, combine remaining egg yolk with 1 teaspoon water and beat lightly. Brush over top of cake, then use a fork to score a crisscross pattern into the dough. Bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes (cover with foil if cake is browning too quickly). Cool in pan 15 minutes. Flip onto a plate, then invert onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom.
• Sift both flours, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and sugar on medium-high speed until doubled in volume and pale yellow, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the butter in four parts, beating until completely combined after each, 1 to 2 minutes total. With the mixer on low speed, add flour mixture, beating until combined.
• Transfer batter to prepared pan; with a small offset spatula, spread batter and smooth top. (If necessary, chill batter for 10 minutes before smoothing.) Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Remove pan from refrigerator. Brush top with beaten egg, and mark a crosshatch pattern with a knife. Brush again with egg. Bake until cake is deep golden brown and edges pull away from sides of pan, 40 to 45 minutes. Cover with foil if browning too quickly.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Remove cake from pan, and slice while still warm.

Steps:

• Place the flour on the counter and make a well. Cut up the butter and place the sifted sugars, butter, yolks, rum, and vanilla powder in the well. Work the well together.
• Work in the flour then "fraisage" the dough, pushing it away from you on the counter with the heel of your hand. This helps schmear the butter into thin layers to make the cake flakey in the end. Chill the dough 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F.
• Butter an 8-inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment and butter the paper. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to an 8-inch disk about 1/2-inch thick. Flip it over onto your hand and brush off the excess flour then place it in the pan. Brush the top with egg wash; then egg wash it again to get a thicker coating. Using a knife, decorate it with the traditional cross-hatching, or for restaurant presentation you carve a map of Brittany on the surface and do some angled lines all around the edge. Bake until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool in the pan and serve in wedges.
• I kept this recipe in the original metric measurements I was taught it in to show the relationship between the ingredients. Quatre-Quarts (meaning "four quarters") is a French cake shaped like a rectangle and all the ingredients (butter, sugar, flour, and eggs-oooo that would make a good book title, don't you think?) are of equal weights. My teacher, Chef Claude at La Varenne said you weigh the eggs and then match that measurement with the other ingredients.
• If you look this up in the dictionary, Quarte-quarts translates to pound cake, the American version of a pound of 4 equal ingredients, but with air whipped in for leavening. This cake is dense and buttery with a big crumb, more like a shortbread than a cake.
• You can do the mixing in a food processor but this recipe is the traditional way.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water with a pinch of sugar. Stir briefly, then let stand for 10 minutes until foamy. Gradually stir the flour and salt. The dough should be soft, but not too sticky.
• Lightly dust your countertop with flour and transfer the dough onto it. Knead the dough with your hands until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 3 minutes. If the dough is very sticky, knead in just enough flour, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough doesn't stick to your hands.
• Brush a medium bowl with melted butter, put the dough ball into the bowl. Cover, and let rest in a warm place for 1 hour. Meanwhile, line a dinner plate with plastic wrap and set aside.
• On a lightly floured countertop, roll the dough into a rectangle about 12" x 18" with the shorter sides to your left and right. The dough may be sticky and difficult to handle. Use a metal pastry scraper to coax the dough into shape, and a minimal sprinkling of flour, as necessary.
• Distribute the butter in the center of the dough and sprinkle with ¼ cup (50 gr) of sugar. Grab the left side of the dough, lift and fold it over the center, than do the same with the right side (like a letter). You should have what resembles a 3-level pastry. Sprinkle the entire length of the dough with ¼ cup (50 gr) of sugar and (without rolling) fold again into thirds, as before.
• Place on the plastic wrap-covered dinner plate and chill for 1 hour. (At this point, wipe excess flour from the countertop and dust the countertop with a rather liberal handful of sugar for rolling out the pastry again.).
• Once chilled, remove dough from refrigerator. Ease it away from the plastic onto the sugar-covered countertop. Top the dough with ¼ cup (50 gr) of sugar, press it in a bit with your hands, and roll into a rectangle for the last time. Again, fold into thirds and let rest in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425° F (220° C) and brush a 9-inch (23cm) pie plate, preferably non-stick, with melted butter. Remove dough from refrigerator. Roll dough into a circle about the size of the baking pan. It will be sticky; dusting the top with a sprinkle of sugar will help.
• Once rolled, lift the dough and coax it into the pan. (It will want to break. If so, fold it in half and quickly slide something flat under it, like the metal bench scrape AND a metal spatula and quickly slip it into the pan. If it does break, just piece it back together in the pan.) Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup (50 gr) of sugar and drizzle with 1 tablespoon melted butter.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is deeply caramelized. Let stand a few minutes, then run a spatula around the edges to release the Kouign Amann and slide the cake from the pan onto a cooling rack.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine yeast with 2/3 cup water and the orange flower water. Let sit until bubbly. In a large bowl, combine the flours, salt and yeast mixture. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until smooth. Butter a large bowl and add dough. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 30 to 60 minutes. Place in refrigerator to firm up, about 30 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, pound chilled butter into a 5-inch square. Cover with plastic wrap and let come almost to room temperature; it should have an icing-like texture. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 10-inch disk. Place butter on top and fold dough up and around it to cover.
• Working quickly, roll out dough so that it is 2 feet long and 1 foot wide. Using a pastry brush, brush off excess flour. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar, and fold into thirds as if folding a business letter. Turn 90 degrees, sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar, roll out to 2 feet long and 1 foot wide, and fold into thirds. Repeat 2 more times, scraping up sticky areas. Avoid using too much flour.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter and sugar a 9-inch glass pie plate. Place dough in plate, tucking corners under. Let rise in a warm place until soft and puffy, 1 to 2 hours. Brush surface with melted butter, and sprinkle with a generous amount of sugar and a little orange flower water. Bake until risen and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. If top browns before bottom, cover with foil. The bottom should be hazelnut brown. Remove from oven, slice and serve warm.