Nutella Breton Butter Cake

This summer, we stayed in Paris. We decided not to bow to the sacred rules of the French vacances; we wanted our break to happen on cool, pleasant days, with fewer crowds around us.

So we stayed in our city: a holiday of writing and baking, morning runs and coffee shops, and mostly resting up before September, which is the busiest month in our field. It’s the combination of everyone returning from summer vacation, the Jewish High Holidays, and of course the Christmas launches for journalists.

Between whipping up recipes and running along the Seine, we did slip out of Paris for a few short day trips, and on one of those days we decided to take a car west to Normandy. It’s a huge region, of course, one you could easily spend several good days exploring, but we chose to focus on a handful of places that had been on our list for a long time. I’ll write about those soon.

And of course, on every trip, even a single day trip, we follow our noses (literally) into our own field. It’s amazing how wonderful it is to travel guided by scent and taste.

One product that’s deeply characteristic of both Normandy and Brittany when it comes to sweets is their incredible butter cookies. They come in an enormous range of sizes, densities, textures, and flours. Famous ones include sablés, sablés bretons, crisp galette cookies, and so many more.

After one of our visits to Mont Saint-Michel, that magical island sitting right on the border between Normandy and Brittany, I shared the recipe for Gâteau Breton, simply translated as “Breton cake,” meaning a cake from Brittany. It’s a cake that’s really a kind of giant, puffed-up cookie, rich (very rich) in salted butter. It’s usually eaten alongside tea or coffee; you can eat it plain, but Mamush really loves spreading it with Christine Ferber jam. Pure pleasure.

This time, I decided to upgrade the Breton queen and turned it into a butter cake with a thick layer of hazelnut chocolate spread hidden inside. You can use Nutella or any other hazelnut chocolate spread you like, and of course you can make a homemade version too. This has become one of my favorite cakes lately, and I’m warning you in advance: it’s impossible to stop eating it 😱

Nutella Breton Butter Cake
Baking pan/ring: 20 cm (8 inches)

Ingredients
Breton Butter Cake:
120g egg yolks (approximately 6 medium eggs)
210g fine sugar
250g soft semi-salted butter
350g sifted flour
5g baking powder
For brushing: Egg yolk + 1 tablespoon milk, beaten together

Chocolate Layer (prepare in advance):
150g store-bought hazelnut chocolate spread (Nutella, for example) or homemade, recipe inside

Preparation
1. Breton Butter Cake: Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Grease your pan or ring mold and line just the bottom with parchment paper.
2. In a stand mixer bowl, whip the egg yolks together with the sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
3. Add the butter and continue whipping until the mixture is smooth and uniform.
4. Add the flour and baking powder and mix until a dough forms. Remove from the mixer, transfer to a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly by hand until the dough is uniform (it will be very soft and slightly sticky).
5. Chocolate Layer (prepare in advance): Pour the chocolate spread onto a sheet of parchment paper and shape it into an 18 cm disk. Freeze for at least one hour.

Assembly
6. Divide the dough into two equal portions. Transfer the first portion into the pan or ring mold and smooth it out into an even, level layer.
7. Place the frozen chocolate disk on top of the dough layer, centering it carefully.
8. Cover the chocolate disk with the second half of the dough and smooth it into an even layer. You can lay a sheet of parchment paper on top and press it down gently using another flat bottomed pan of a similar size. Just remember to remove the parchment paper afterward.
9. Brush the dough with the egg yolk and milk mixture, then use a fork to mark a crosshatch pattern on top.
10. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the cake is set and golden brown. Remove from the oven, let cool, and dig in.
Note: The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for at least ten days. It actually improves with time.

Bon-Appétit
Sharon