Gâteau battu picard (Picardy beaten cake)

The baker, Denis Playez, was sandwiching the waffles on the spot with a mixture of cream and light brown sugar (flavored either with rum or vanilla) and selling them by the bag. They were pleasantly crunchy but a bit too sweet for my taste. The golden cakes definitely caught my eye though. Monsieur Playez told us he had been up half-the-night beaten them into submission: the dough needs to rise and be punched back, rise and be punched back, rise and be punched back, and it will only ferment properly if kept at warm temperature (in the old days, folks used to tuck the bowl of dough between them in their beds). Baked in a high corrugated pan, the gâteau battu looks a bit like an inverted chef’s toque.

The original recipe is so rich in egg yolks (hence the deep yellow color) and butter that, for health reasons, I will not even attempt to make it at home. But it is fluffier and lighter than a regular brioche and, to my taste, much more delicate than a kouglof. We bought one to bring to our friends’ house and we had it for dessert with canned peaches from their garden. What a treat…
In case you are wondering about the exact location of this magical land, it is in Northern France and we happened upon it while driving back down from Belgium where we had been visiting family. The village is called Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. It has a rich history: William the Conqueror left from its harbor in September 1066 to conquer England. Its prison briefly held Joanne of Arc in December 1430 when the British troops chose to overnight there on their way to Rouen.