In French, this Breton Pound cake is called a “quatre-quarts“, which translates to “four quarters”. It is ubiquitous in my home region of Brittany, but also widely known and enjoyed all throughout France. It consists – just like a classic pound cake – of four ingredients of equal weight: one quarter flour, one quarter butter, one quarter sugar and one quarter eggs. Finally, this pound cake traditionally doesn’t require any leavening agent (ie. baking powder) or flavoring (ie. vanilla extract).

So what makes this Breton Pound Cake different from a classic Pound Cake?

Instead of classic salted or unsalted butter, a Breton pound cake (“Quatre-Quarts”) calls for the use of sea-salted butter, known in French as “Beurre Salé”. This “Beurre Salé” is commonly consumed in the North-Western part of France (especially Brittany) and is used heavily in local baked goods (like in these Salted Butter Breton Sablés). It includes 3 to 5% more salt than the salted butter found in the US/Canada, which is in the form of sea-salt flakes. It gives this pound cake lovely salted-buttery notes, all while enhancing all the flavors.

If you live outside of France and can’t buy “Beurre Salé”, you can recreate it by using unsalted butter and sea-salt flakes (such as Fleur de sel or Maldon). I do not recommend you use salted butter as a substitute: it usually has a higher water content than unsalted butter, so it could give you an inconsistent result.

Cooking notes:

• Weigh your ingredients, rather than using cups. I am a huge advocate of using a food scale for baking. And this couldn’t be any truer when baking a Pound Cake. This recipe is all about having the exact equal weight of eggs, flour, sugar and butter – so using a food scale is essential. Start by measuring the weight of your 3 eggs (3 large eggs, out of the shell – it should equal about 150g), and use the exact same weight of flour, sugar and butter.
• Make sure the eggs are at room temperature. The eggs should be at room temperature for them to retain more air when beaten. If too cold, the whites will be stiffer and won’t welcome in air as much. 
• For this Apple Breton Pound Cake, or most apple cakes really, choose baking apples that will hold their shape when cooking and not turn into mush. My favorite baking apple varieties are Honey Crisp, Jonagold, Pink Lady, Granny Smith and Mutsu. 

I hope you’ll love this Apple Breton Pound Cake recipe as much as I do! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment. 

You may also like:

• Lemon Poppy Seed French Yogurt Loaf
• Classic French Spiced Bread (Pain d’Épices)
• Orange Yogurt Cake 
• Classic French Apple Cake
• Salted Butter Breton Sables

Apple Breton Pound Cake (Quatre-Quarts aux Pommes)

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 55 Minutes 55 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.8/5

( 9 voted )

Ingredients

For the apples:
2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter
2 tbsp (25g) sugar
2 large baking apples, peeled, cored and diced (about 250g, once diced)
A pinch of sea salt flakes

For the cake:
2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter
3 eggs large (150g), at room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 cup + 2 tbsp  (150g) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp sea salt flakes

Instructions

Note: This recipe is based on 3 eggs weighing 150g. If your eggs weigh less or more, adapt your other ingredient measurements accordingly. See cooking notes above. 

Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C)  with a rack in the middle. Grease a 9”x-5” loaf pan with butter and dust it lightly with flour. 

Melt the 150g of butter (for the batter) in a saucepan and set aside to cool.

In large frying pan, over medium heat, add the diced apples, butter (for the apples), sugar and salt. When the butter starts to melt, mix gently to coat the apples. Cook for 6-7 minutes until the apples are lightly softened and caramelized. Do not overcook them, the dices should still hold their shape. Set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until foamy and lighter in color. Whisk in the cool melted butter. Switch to a spoon or spatula, and mix in the flour and salt. Finally, fold in the apples. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until firm. Add a spoonful of the egg whites to the batter and mix to loosen the consistency. Add the rest of the egg whites and gently fold in with a spatula. 

Transfer the batter to the prepare pan and bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, until golden and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and let cool to room temperature completely, before serving.

Did you make this recipe?

I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a comment below, rate the recipe and/or share a photo on Instagram: tag @pardonyourfrench  and hashtag it #pardonyourfrench.  Bon Appetit! 

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The post Apple Breton Pound Cake (Quatre-Quarts aux Pommes) appeared first on Pardon Your French.

If you think chocolate chip cookies couldn’t get any better – just wait, and try! 

Buckwheat, a staple ingredient in Brittany.

I have always had a fondness for alternative flours, especially buckwheat flour. Buckwheat, known in French as “blé noir” or “sarrasin”, is a central ingredient of Brittany cooking. It features in many of our local specialties, like savory buckwheat crepes or the earthy kig ha farz meat stew. I enjoyed this flour all throughout my childhood in France and I have always loved it for its distinct earthy and nutty flavours. 

Buckwheat flour is gluten-free which makes it a good choice for anybody with gluten sensitivities or celiac disease. It is packed with nutrients and versatile. It is also widely available and a great choice for anyone just starting to play around in the kitchen with alternative flours. 

Notes on Buckwheat flour in the US/Canada and in France 

Since starting this blog, I have had a lot of people asking me about buckwheat flour. The question that I get the most is what brand/type of buckwheat flour to buy in the US/Canada to recreate the same taste and look as in France? Most people point out that buckwheat flour is much darker in US/Canada, resulting in darker results in baked goods and crepes.  

What I have found from my experience of juggling back and forth between North American and French flours is that the French buckwheat flour is usually sold as refined, whereas buckwheat flour in North America is usually left whole-grain. 

The un-refined buckwheat flour found in North America is grainier and darker in color. It will for instance give you crepes that are much darker in color and with a more assertive taste. Examples of such North American whole-grain buckwheat flours are Bob’s Red Mill Organic Buckwheat Flour and the one you can find in bulk at a store like Bulk Barn. 

Refined French buckwheat flour is usually more fine, almost powdery and lighter in color. An example of French buckwheat flour is Treblec’s, which is sold everywhere in France, and online. This is probably one of the most famous brands, and one that I grew up enjoying for making crepes.  

I personally have no objection using either kind of these buckwheat flour – whole grain or refined. I just know what to expect. For instance, these Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies will end up darker and earthier in taste when using whole grain buckwheat flour. Or they will end up lighter in color and more subtle in taste if using French Treblec’s flour (which I always have a bag of in my pantry!). I love both results – so I am fine with this difference. 

But if I make a batch of buckwheat crêpes and want them to be like the ones I enjoy in France, I make sure to use French Treblec’s buckwheat flour.

A few more cooking tips: 

• • Make sure you use unsalted butter. This recipe calls for adding 2 teaspoons of sea salt flakes (or fleur de sel) which will provide plenty enough salt for the cookies. If you use salted butter, your cookies will likely be too salty in taste. 
  • Melt the butter about 30 minutes before you start the recipe. Set aside and let it cool down to room temperature.
  • Choose good quality sea salt flakes such as Maldon.  Fleur de sel is also a great choice, such as Le Saunier de Camargue.
  • Semi-sweet chocolate chips are perfect here. Milk chocolate chips work great too. I also love these cookies with pecans – in this case, use 1 cup of chocolate chips and ½ cup chopped pecans. 

I hope you’ll love these Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt as much as I do! 

You may also like:

• Breton Salted Butter Sables
• Buckwheat Sables with Chocolate Chips
• Lavender Sable Cookies

Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

Print Recipe

Serves: 16-18 cookies Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes 15 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.4/5

( 13 voted )

Ingredients

10 tbsp/1.25 stick (140g) unsalted, melted and cooled
2/3 cup (130g) brown sugar
1/3 cup (65g) sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (40g) buckwheat flour
¼ tsp baking soda
2 tsp sea salt flakes, divided
1 ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Step 1 - In a large mixing bowl, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar and sugar until fully incorporated and shiny. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and mix again until fully incorporated. 

Step 2 - Add the all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, baking soda and 1 tsp of sea salt flakes. Fold in these dry ingredients until just combined – do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips. 

Step 3 -   Pre-heat your oven to 350F (180C) with two racks centered.  Prepare two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the baking sheets. Sprinkle the rest of the sea salt flakes on top of each ball. 

Bake for 15 minutes, rotating pans halfway, until the cookies are just set and lightly golden on the edges. Let cool for 2 minutes onto the baking sheets and transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Did you make this recipe?

I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a comment below, rate the recipe and/or share a photo on Instagram: tag @pardonyourfrench  and hashtag it #pardonyourfrench.  Bon Appetit! 

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Privacy Policy & Disclosure page for more details.

The post Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt appeared first on Pardon Your French.