In Brittany, come and taste the unmissable and original kouign-amann: a traditional butter cake whose recipe would have been invented by mistake...
In Brittany, come and taste the unmissable and original kouign-amann: a traditional butter cake whose recipe would have been invented by mistake...
According to legend, the kouign-amann adventure began in 1860 in the bakery of a certain Yves-René Scordia, in the charming Breton town of Douarnenez. In that year, flour was hard to come by while butter was available in abundance. Our baker would therefore have decided to produce a dough with the original recipe that was considered unbalanced: 400g of butter for 300g of flour and 300g of sugar. After baking, the surprise is total: the kouign-amann is born! The immediate success it met quickly made it a must in Breton gastronomy.
A popular regional recipe
Today, its aura is such that it is difficult to visit Brittany without tasting this famous speciality (or two, depending on how greedy everyone is!) whose name is also typically Breton, "kouign" meaning cake and "amann" meaning butter.
In order to make the most of its soft interior and its crunchy exterior made crunchy by the caramelisation of the sugar, it is advisable to taste the warm kouign-amann with a good glass of chouchen or a few pieces of apple. As with the majority of Breton cakes, its recipe seems simple; it is composed of few ingredients. In reality, it requires a long experience and an undeniable know-how as this famous Breton saying proves it to us: "The fact who wants, the success who can. »
Breton cake par excellence but now known throughout the world, the kouign-amann is a monument to the intangible and gastronomic heritage of a region that is not lacking in it. We strongly advise you to keep the idea of a small tasting for your next trip to the Celtic land.
To know where to eat it in Brittany.
For aspiring pastry chefs, a recipe suggestion.
Bérengère for Comme des Français
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Continue your tasting by reading our other gourmet articles:
- The stunning story of the tarte tatin
- The tasty Paris-Brest
- Desserts created in Paris
