January–April 2023 Baking Cookbook of the Month: GATEAU: THE SURPRISING SIMPLICITY OF FRENCH CAKES

Thanks for the rec— will certainly be on the lookout to add lemon verbena to the garden this spring. Great idea about pulverizing and freezing the packets.

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GATEAU AUX BAIES P. 52

Berry cake. While I’ve liked everything I’ve made from this book thus far, this is hands-down my favorite to date.

I used cake flour, partially-frozen garden blueberries, and subbed sour cream for the crème fraiche. The only other change I made was with the second half of the berries, tossing them with about ¼ t. of the flour mixture, ½ t. sugar and ½ t. lemon juice before topping the cake. I made a half recipe utilizing a hand-mixer and a 7” springform pan.

DH agrees, this is a very good cake. Tender, light, gently lemony, not to sweet, with the berries prominently up front. Different enough from my usual Boy Bait or standard pantry cake to warrant a new blueberry cake recipe in my collection. Will look forward to trying this with other berries later this year when in season.

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Wow, that looks delish!

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Thank you - it is!

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CAKE SALÉ AUX TOMATES, MOZZARELLA ET BASILIC, p. 296

This is, as she suggests in the headnote, essentially caprese salad in quick-bread form. Roasted cherry tomatoes are the only out-of-season fresh tomatoes I bother with, so I figured I’d brighten up my table on a chilly, storm-soaked day with this recipe.

My various minor deviations: I used just 2 tablespoons of olive oil to roast the tomatoes and garlic rather than 1/4 cup, and that was plenty to coat them and still yielded at least twice the tablespoon of post-roasting liquid you’re to add to the batter (I went ahead and added 2 tablespoons’ worth to no detriment). I used DC kosher salt rather than fine sea salt, and less than the equivalent amount called for in both the tomatoes and the batter. That was a good call because, even without salty add-ins, the batter tasted quite salty and the finished bread was well-salted but not oversalted. I used dried buttermilk powder and skipped the tablespoon of chives because I had none. I used fresh mozzarella packed in plastic, as recommended, and while I eyeballed rather than measuring the volume of cubed cheese, I’d say using the full 8 ounces or just a bit less works. I split the recipe between a 4-cup capacity loaf pan and two minis.

I served the larger loaf cooled almost to room temperature the day I baked it to accompany a more-seasonal cauliflower velouté, and the wrapped minis went into the fridge. I sliced part of one two days after baking and warmed the slices briefly, and the crumb was as soft and nice as when fresh. Over all, I like the flavor a lot, though I can’t detect the garlic or parmesan per se. I might increase the amount of tomatoes by a bit, and I’d definitely increase the basil.

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UN GRAND GATEAU A L’ORANGE P. 62

A big orange cake. Only I baked a petite gateau, using a 1/3 recipe and baking in a 6 ½” springform pan.

This was so good. Fresh tasting and tender, but substantial. The orange flavor permeates but is not overwhelming. The two of us ate half the little cake with afternoon coffee, if that’s any indication.

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That looks delicious! Such a nice fine crumb on the cake, picture perfect!

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That looks delicious, love the crumb!

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Thank you, both! I was surprised at how fine the crumb came out. Another winner from this lovely book.

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You guys have convinced me I need to buy the book! Beautiful cakes all around, and they sound delicious.

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gâteau au sucre roux, au rhum et aux pépitez de chocolat(cake with brown sugar,rum and chocolate chips page 39
I approached this recipe with tribulation having failed twice at other recipes but it worked out great. In this cake the rum has a presence. There is 1/3 cup. The bundt was greased and dusted with cocoa which gives cake a dark outer look. A nice moist cake which isn’t sweet at all. I used greek yogourt.

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It looks and sounds delicious!

Picture of slice

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Looking luscious! Great that you had success with it!

I have had my eye on this recipe, looks great!

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That looks delicious. I’m fond of rum in baked goods. I’ll have to add this recipe to my list.

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Just another note that I went to a nursery this weekend and found lemon verbena. Now planted in the garden and awaiting summer bakes!

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I just made crema Catalan using dried lemon verbena leaves in lieu of lemon peel, it’s very versatile. I keep a jar of lemon verbena sugar as well. I’m sure you will enjoy the plant!

CAKE CHOCOLAT ORANGE (Chocolate and Candied Orange Loaf), p. 152

If any recipe was likely to whisper Make me! in my ear, it was one with dark chocolate, almond paste, and candied orange peel, all of which I happen to have in my pantry.

This would’ve been simpler with a stand mixer, but mine needs its plug replaced, so I used both a food processor to grind the almond paste and sugar, and a hand-held mixer for beating that mixture with the eggs, since I knew the almond paste would just fly all over the kitchen if I tried to do it with the hand mixer. Still, this came together easily. I had a jar with maybe a couple of ounces of a combination of organic sugar, ground vanilla bean sugar, and orange zest left over from making orange-vanilla sugar cookies a while ago, so I used that as part of the total weight of sugar. For the chocolate, I chopped up 72% bittersweet bar chocolate. I baked this in four mini loaf pans. I probably could’ve done three, but I wasn’t sure, so the fourth made a shorter loaf.

This is a delicious cake with a fine crumb that stayed plenty moist over several days, and went over very well with everyone I shared it with. The almond flavor is in the background, with the chocolate and orange at the forefront.


The book has to go back to the library, but there are so many tempting recipes, it’s definitely one worth owning, so it’s going on my mental wishlist.

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Would definitely like to try this one. I can hear the whispering.