Gâteau Breton with Apricot Filling

• 2025 Tour de France Stage 7: Saint-Malo to Mûr-de-Bretagne Guerlédan

  
  

It has been a little over a month since my last blog post. I had intended to get some additional entries between the Giro and the Tour, but couldn’t find the time. Even today, I thought I had time and could post this around 1130…6 hours later, here I am typing away! The riders were in the region of Brittany today so I decided to make this tasty Breton classic cake with homemade apricot marmalade. It’s so simple that I didn’t ever panic while baking it…which is kind of a rarity when I bake! I paired it with a traditional beverage Breton’s enjoy in the afternoon with their gâteau. An allongé is a super-packed double espresso shot diluted with warm water. This means you can have some robust flavor without being attacked from the intense acidity. 

Gâteau Breton with Apricot Filling

from America’s Test Kitchen

Filling

• ½ cup dried apricots, diced fine

• ⅔ cup water

• ⅓ cup sugar

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Cake

• 2 sticks of butter softened

• ¾ cup + 2 tbsp sugar

• 5 large egg yolks

• 2 tbsp dark rum

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 cups AP flour

• ½ tsp salt

Egg wash

• 1 egg yolk whisked with 1 tsp water

Prepare the Filling.  Place the diced apricots and water in a blender and process until smooth (about a minute). 

Pour the apricot purée in a medium nonstick skillet and stir in the sugar. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. 

When the apricot mixture has darkened and cooked off the excess water, pour into a bowl and set in the refrigerator to cool while you prepare the cake.

Prepare the Cake. Place the butter in a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium-high speed for a couple minutes. 

Add the sugar and continue to beat for 3 minutes. 

With the motor still running, add the egg yolks, one-at-a-time, about 30 seconds apart. 

Turn of the motor and scrape down the bowl. Add the rum and vanilla and mix on medium-low for 1 minute. 

Then, on the lowest speed, add the flour and salt and mix until just combined (about 30 seconds). Give the bowl mixture a few stirs with a rubber spatula. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack set in the lower-middle position. 

Grease a 10-inch round cake pan with butter. 

Place half of the batter in the prepared pan and smooth it out to the edges, in a uniform layer, using an offset spatula and place the cake pan in the freezer for 10 minutes. 

While the cake chills, mix together the egg wash. 

After the cake has chilled for 10 minutes, remove it from the freezer and spoon on the apricot filling, spreading it out with the back-end of the spoon and leaving a rough ¾” border. 

Carefully add the remaining batter on top and smooth it out to the edges, in a uniform layer, using an offset spatula. 

[For a slightly easier task, place the remaining batter between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll it out into a nearly 10” round. Place on top and continue pressing out gently with your hands or the spatula.]

Try to make the surface as smooth as possible. Then brush on the egg wash. 

Using a fork, make diagonal lines about 1.5” apart to form a crosshatch pattern. 

Place in the oven and bake for 18 minutes. Rotate the pan a half-turn and continue baking for another 18 minutes. 

Remove from the oven when fully baked and place on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. 

Run a paring knife around the edge and place a cooling rack upside down on the top of the pan. Invert so the cake falls out of the pan. Place the original cooling rack on top of the cake’s bottom surface and invert once more. 

Allow the cake to fully cool for an hour. Then slice and serve with an allongé.

Allongé

• 18 grams of regular (coarsely ground) coffee

• 50 ml boiling hot water

Measure out the coffee grounds in an espresso machine portafilter basket on a zeroed-out scale. 

Tamp down the grounds - it’s going to be extremely packed tight with this many grounds. You may have to skimp a gram; do your best.

Place the prepared grounds in your espresso machine and pour the hot water into a small, empty coffee or tea mug. 

Then place the cup under the espresso basket and make a doubleshot. 

Once the machine has prepared the double shot, give a brief light stir to incorporate the additional water and serve.

______________________________ Copyright 2025, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.