Gâteau Breton

After last week’s trifle – a day long project, I appreciated being able to start this cake at 9 PM and still have a good night’s sleep.

My friend, Jennifer, will be ordained next month.  When she mentioned that Friday would be the last meeting of a group that’s been together for years, during this preparatory process, the occasion seemed to call for a cake.

My first thought had been to make the Chocolate Streusel Coffee Cake.  After checking the baking schedule, Gâteau Breton also seemed like a great choice to have with their morning coffee.

As I alluded above, the batter is easy to put together.  Almonds are ground with sugar and salt.  A European-style butter is creamed with sugar and then egg yolks.  The almond mixture is added with vanilla and kirsch.  I didn’t have kirsch, so I used a raspberry liqueur.  A little flour and you’re ready to bake.

I’ve been eager to use my new mini-bundt pans, so I didn’t glaze the tops with a beaten egg, as I would have if using a tart pan.

Before I started and not knowing if I’d have “leftovers,” I asked my daughter, who’s home for a few days from college, if I should make a double recipe.  When she learned the cake wasn’t chocolate and there was no frosting, she said not to bother, but she came around. The recipe filled my twelve mini-bundts, and 5 in a mini-muffin pan, and she gladly helped me finish off the frosting-free, mini-cupcakes.

Unlike my other blog posts, as part of the Heavenly Cake Bakers, I don’t post recipes from this book on the internet.  One of the reasons for this baking group is to encourage readers to purchase the cookbook.  That strategy worked on me!  After follow the group’s baking adventures for a couple of months, I ordered a copy from Amazon.

Lois Britton

An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com,  she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.