Sugar Crusted Breton Butter Cake Food

PB&J GOOEY BUTTER CAKE

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
• Combine the cake mix, vanilla and eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the butter and mix just until combined. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared baking dish.
• For the filling: Dollop the jelly over the cake batter and smooth to the edges with an offset spatula. Beat the peanut butter and cream cheese in a clean electric mixer bowl with the paddle on medium speed until light and smooth, scraping the sides occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed to incorporate, and then beat on medium until light and smooth, about 1 minute. Pour over the cake layer and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Sprinkle with the peanuts.
• Bake until the edges are puffed and golden brown and the center is just set, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool.
• For the glaze: Melt the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl in the microwave. While the butter is still hot, whisk in the peanut butter until smooth. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Put the grape jelly in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave just until you can whisk it smooth, only about 15 seconds (don't melt it completely). Put the peanut butter glaze in a small resealable plastic bag and the jelly in another. Snip off a corner of each with scissors and drizzle the glazes all over the cake. Cut into squares to serve.

S'MORES GOOEY BUTTER CAKE

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
• Combine the cake mix, vanilla and eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the butter and mix just until combined. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared baking dish.
• For the filling: Beat the cream cheese in a clean mixer bowl with the paddle on medium speed until light and smooth, scraping the sides occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until smooth. Add the butter and beat until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed to incorporate, and then beat on medium until light and smooth, about 1 minute.
• Arrange the marshmallows in rows in the chocolate batter, flat-ends up. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the marshmallows, using an offset spatula to evenly distribute. Coarsely crumble the graham crackers over the top.
• Bake until the edges are puffed and golden brown and the center is just set, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares.

CLASSIC BRETON BUTTER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom.
• Sift both flours, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and sugar on medium-high speed until doubled in volume and pale yellow, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the butter in four parts, beating until completely combined after each, 1 to 2 minutes total. With the mixer on low speed, add flour mixture, beating until combined.
• Transfer batter to prepared pan; with a small offset spatula, spread batter and smooth top. (If necessary, chill batter for 10 minutes before smoothing.) Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Remove pan from refrigerator. Brush top with beaten egg, and mark a crosshatch pattern with a knife. Brush again with egg. Bake until cake is deep golden brown and edges pull away from sides of pan, 40 to 45 minutes. Cover with foil if browning too quickly.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Remove cake from pan, and slice while still warm.

PRUNE PLUM AND WALNUT BUTTER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter and dust it with 1 tablespoon of the flour.
• Toss the plums with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the brandy; set aside.
• Cream the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in a large bowl with 1 cup of the sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Sift the remaining 1 cup flour, baking powder, and salt together and beat into the creamed butter.
• In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until they start to foam. Do not over beat, or the cake will be tough. Add the eggs and ground walnuts to the flour and butter mixture. Mix well.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the plums on top in rings. Sprinkle with any remaining brandy-sugar syrup and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
• Bake for 1 hour, or until the cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the cake (not the plums) comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing the sides of the springform pan and serving. Garnish with a dusting of confectioners' sugar.

GATEAU BRETON

Steps:

• Place the flour on the counter and make a well. Cut up the butter and place the sifted sugars, butter, yolks, rum, and vanilla powder in the well. Work the well together.
• Work in the flour then "fraisage" the dough, pushing it away from you on the counter with the heel of your hand. This helps schmear the butter into thin layers to make the cake flakey in the end. Chill the dough 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F.
• Butter an 8-inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment and butter the paper. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to an 8-inch disk about 1/2-inch thick. Flip it over onto your hand and brush off the excess flour then place it in the pan. Brush the top with egg wash; then egg wash it again to get a thicker coating. Using a knife, decorate it with the traditional cross-hatching, or for restaurant presentation you carve a map of Brittany on the surface and do some angled lines all around the edge. Bake until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool in the pan and serve in wedges.
• I kept this recipe in the original metric measurements I was taught it in to show the relationship between the ingredients. Quatre-Quarts (meaning "four quarters") is a French cake shaped like a rectangle and all the ingredients (butter, sugar, flour, and eggs-oooo that would make a good book title, don't you think?) are of equal weights. My teacher, Chef Claude at La Varenne said you weigh the eggs and then match that measurement with the other ingredients.
• If you look this up in the dictionary, Quarte-quarts translates to pound cake, the American version of a pound of 4 equal ingredients, but with air whipped in for leavening. This cake is dense and buttery with a big crumb, more like a shortbread than a cake.
• You can do the mixing in a food processor but this recipe is the traditional way.

GâTEAU BRETON

Steps:

• In a small pot over medium-high heat, combine prunes, rum and 2 tablespoons water. (Use 1 cup/240 milliliters water if using dried apricots.) Cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed (about 5 minutes for prunes, 10 to 15 for apricots). Use a fork to mash into a thick purée. Cover and chill.
• In a food processor, pulse to combine flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add 5 egg yolks and pulse until mixture comes together as a dough. Divide in half, form into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 2 hours or until firm.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. Between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap, roll one of the dough halves into an 8-inch circle. Transfer dough to prepared cake pan, pressing into edges. Spread prune or apricot purée across dough, leaving 3/4 inch border around outside edge. Roll second piece of dough into an 8-inch circle, transfer to cake pan, press around outside edge to stick the pieces together and seal in fruit purée.
• In a small bowl, combine remaining egg yolk with 1 teaspoon water and beat lightly. Brush over top of cake, then use a fork to score a crisscross pattern into the dough. Bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes (cover with foil if cake is browning too quickly). Cool in pan 15 minutes. Flip onto a plate, then invert onto a wire rack and let cool completely.