Recipe: Sesame gateau | The Japan Times

“Gateau” is a kind of phrases we use after we need to sound fancy. Evoking elaborate building and delicate ornament, the time period merely means “cake.” Humble gateaux exist greater than you may think, particularly when you enterprise past metropolis patisseries and into countryside farmhouses.

Outstretched into the North Atlantic, Brittany is the northwesternmost nook of mainland France. The delicacies of the area revolves round high quality substances as a substitute of gaudy garnishes — buckwheat flour galettes, for instance, folded in order that the scrumptious filling is hidden away from view. Although unseen, the constituent elements are most positively evident within the consuming.

Gateau Breton takes the best of shortcakes (virtually shortbread) and cunningly bakes it with a shock layer sandwiched inside: dried fruit with alcohol or typically thick jam. My model has black sesame paste with kokutō black sugar for deep taste and colour distinction, plus walnuts as a easy, seasonal and textural factor. Opposite to what you may count on, this gateau is unleavened and sans baking powder, yeast or egg whites. As a substitute, it’s wealthy and heavy with yolks and butter.