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The Breton cake is the party-sized version of the single-serving, crispy, caramelized kouign amann pastry. It’s composed tender layers of dough, butter, and sugar, and baked in a 9-inch circular cake pan. While baking, its outside sugar crust caramelizes against the metal pan, and creates a palmier-style crunch, while inside, the butter melts into the dough layers. When served fresh, each bite is fluffy, rich, tender, and encased in the most delicately crisp caramel crust. Like many pastries, the recipe will suggest browning the top with a light coat of egg wash, but it’s not necessary if you’re backing off of eggs (and again, mayo works pretty well). I promise you, a final flourish of sugar will take care of the aesthetic.
