Gâteau Breton With Date and Cranberry FIlling

I think many countries may have a version of this cake, perhaps even in a biscuit form.

Originally there was no filling in the cake, it was a thick, compact cake with a high butter content, favoured by sailors because it could be conserved for a long time.

When I first tasted a Gâteau Breton it reminded me of Scottish shortbread, that familiar sweet, buttery taste was there, only in a thicker format.

Like with many recipes, the Breton cake has evolved over the years, now a prune crème filling is the most common format that you'll find as well as the occasional salted butter caramel and raspberry fillings.

Since there were only dried dates and cranberries in the cupboard, I thought let's see if that combination would work and it definitely didn't disappoint.

You will need the following:

Ingredients for the pastry:

• 500g all purpose flour
• 250g sugar
• 250g butter (I used salted, if using unsalted butter, add 1 tsp of salt into the flour)
• 3 eggs slightly beaten
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 2 sachets of vanilla sugar, or 1 vanilla pod (seeds removed) or 1 tbsp of vanilla extract

Ingredients for the date filling:

• 300g dates
• 200g dried cranberries
• 2 sachets of black tea
• water (for soaking the fruit)
• 3 tbsp brown rum

Utensils:

• Mixing bowls
• Chopping board
• Knife
• Spoon
• Spatulas
• Stand alone mixer (if you don't have one, a large bowl will suffice)
• Fork
• Jug
• Rolling pin
• Greaseproof paper
• Greased baking tin (I used a 23 cm springform tin)

1. First you need to remove the stones from the dates (if they aren't pitted) and then chop into small pieces.
2. Add the dried cranberries to the dates.
3. Boil some water and pour over the dried fruit and the sachets of tea.
4. Leave to soak overnight if possible, if not at least for a couple of hours.

The pastry is a cross between a shortbread and a sweet crust pastry.

1. Add the flour, sugar, (salt if using), baking powder and vanilla to a bowl, mix together.
2. Add the butter and either using an electric mixer or a fork, blend the butter into the flour until you have something resembling breadcrumbs.
3. Add the beaten eggs to the breadcrumbs and mix until the dough comes together.
4. Divide the dough into 2 parts.

1. Roll out one half of the pastry and place it at the bottom of the greased tin
2. You want some of the pastry to come up the sides of the tin.
3. Place into the fridge to harden.
4. Roll out the second part of the dough and leave on the greaseproof paper.
5. Also place this into the fridge to firm up whilst you make the date filling.

1. Once the dried fruit has been soaking for a few hours, remove the sachets of tea and transfer the fruit and marinade into a saucepan.
2. Cook on a low to medium heat until you reach a thick jam consistency. You don't want the fruit to burn and you don't want any of the water left over. The dried fruit needs to be nice and soft.
3. Add the rum.
4. Allow the filling to cool completely.
5. Remove the pastry tin from the fridge.
6. Add the dried fruit to the tin, smoothing out the filling.

1. Add the second layer of pastry on top of the fruit filling.
2. Press down so there are no air gaps between the pastry and the fruit filling.
3. Brush on some milk (or a beaten egg) and sprinkle over some sugar.
4. Bake in the oven at 180°C for 40-50 minutes.
5. The top should be golden brown and when a skewer is inserted it should come out clean.

Traditionally this cake is enjoyed cold as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea or coffee, but I couldn't wait for the cake to cool down, so I tried it warm. Delicious!

I think it would be even better topped with custard or ice cream, just don't tell the purists that!

I'd be interested to know if anyone else has a version of this cake in their country and what filling (if there is one) is traditional for your area.