Eric Lanlard’s gâteau breton

  • Portion size: Serves 8-10
  • Hands-on time 20 min, plus chilling. Oven time 40-45 min.
  • Difficulty: easy
Recipe by: Eric Lanlard

Patissier Eric Lanlard shares his family recipe for traditional gâteau breton. This rich, buttery bake is like a cross between a cake and a biscuit and is served, usually with coffee, at celebrations in Brittany.

adslot-recipe-1
lock
Join Extradelicious to unlock Cook Mode

Ingredients

  • 350g plain flour
  • 250g salted butter (ideally good quality Brittany butter)
  • 250g golden caster sugar
  • 5 medium free-range egg yolks (see Don’t Waste It), plus 1 whole beaten egg
  • 2 tbsp dark rum
  • 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and finely sliced

You’ll also need

  • 20cm springform or loose-bottomed cake tin, lightly greased with butter and the base lined
adslot-recipe-3
lock
Join Extradelicious to unlock Cook Mode

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 160ºC fan/gas 4. Put the flour, butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
  2. Put the egg yolks, rum and vanilla paste in a jug, beat with a fork, then pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix gently to form a dough. Divide the mixture into 2 equal portions.
  3. Press one piece of the dough into the prepared cake tin. Arrange the sliced apples on top, leaving a small border around the edge, then press them gently into the dough. Roll the remaining piece of dough between 2 sheets of baking paper to a rough 22cm disc, then put on top of the apples and press down lightly to create an even top. Brush with the beaten egg.
  4. Recipe continues after advertising adslot-recipe-4
  5. Use a fork to lightly trace a criss-cross/diamond pattern on top of the dough, then bake for 40-45 minutes until golden.

Nutrition

  • 471kcals Calories
  • 24.5g (14.1g saturated) Fat
  • 6g Protein
  • 54.2g (27.5g sugars) Carbs
  • 1.6g Fibre
  • 0.5g Salt

Quick wins & tips

Don’t waste it: Lightly beat, label and freeze the egg whites to use in other recipes.

 

Make Ahead

The cake will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container (don’t chill it).

Cook smarter

If the top of the cake browns too quickly, loosely cover it with foil.

Eric says: “The classic gâteau breton is made with either peeled and sliced apple in the middle, laced with rum, or with armagnac-soaked prunes. As with most traditional recipes, everyone’s mum or grandmother’s is the best… This recipe is my grandmother Camille’s.”

adslot-recipe-5

Rate and review

Rate

Leave a comment, question or tip

adslot-recipe-6