Breton Pound Cake (Quatre-Quarts) with berries and whipped cream
It’s berry season! And what could be a better pairing for berries than a hefty slice of pound cake with a generous dollop of whipped cream? But not just any pound cake, a Breton Pound Cake! In French, this Breton Pound cake is called a “quatre-quarts“, which translates to “four quarters”. It is very popular in Brittany, of course, 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,…
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 45 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- Note: This recipe is based on 3 eggs weighing 150g. If your eggs weigh less or more, adapt your other ingredient measurements accordingly.
- 3 large eggs (150g)
- 150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt, such as Fleur de sel or Maldon
- 150g Sugar
- 150g All-purpose Flour, sifted
- For serving:
- Whipped Cream (about 3 cups, whipped, for the whole cake)
- About 2 cups of fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries and blackberries), washed and hulled.
Instructions
- 1
Pre-heat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
- 2
Melt the butter in a saucepan and set aside to cool.
- 3
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.
- 4
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.
- 5
Transfer the batter to the prepare pan and bake for about 1 hour, until golden and knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- 6
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.
- 7
Just before serving, top the cake with whipped cream and decorate with fresh berries.