Gâteau nantais
A cake from Nantes, by tradition created in the early 19th century, when sugar and rum from the French Caribbean reached France through the city's port. It is a low, dense, moist cake rich in butter and ground almonds, soaked with rum and covered with a thin, translucent glaze, also made with rum. It is closer to a dense almond cake than to a sponge. Three things make the difference: soft butter, good dark rum and patience — the cake is best the day after baking.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Batter 15 min
- Baking 40 min
- Cooling 40 min
- Rum and glaze 10 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneHeat the oven and prepare the tin
Heat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 20–22 cm round tin and line the base with baking paper.
Ingredients: 130 g butter, soft · 150 g sugar · 130 g ground almonds · 3 pcs eggs · 40 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt · 2 tbsp dark rum
Cream butter, sugar and almonds
Cream the soft butter with the sugar until pale, then add the ground almonds and beat another minute. The butter must be truly soft — cold butter will not blend with the almonds into a smooth mixture.
Ingredients: 130 g butter, soft · 150 g sugar · 130 g ground almonds · 3 pcs eggs · 40 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt · 2 tbsp dark rum
Soft butter — with the almonds it forms a smooth mixture.Add the eggs one at a time
Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each until absorbed. If the mixture starts to curdle, add a spoon of the flour — it will come back together.
Ingredients: 130 g butter, soft · 150 g sugar · 130 g ground almonds · 3 pcs eggs · 40 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt · 2 tbsp dark rum
Fold in flour, salt and rum
Fold in the sifted flour with a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of rum with a spatula, just until combined. The batter will be thick and smooth.
Ingredients: 130 g butter, soft · 150 g sugar · 130 g ground almonds · 3 pcs eggs · 40 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt · 2 tbsp dark rum
Bake until golden
Spoon the batter into the tin, smooth it and bake 35–40 minutes, until golden and a skewer comes out dry or with a few moist crumbs. Gâteau nantais should be moist inside — dried out, it loses its character.
Ingredients: 130 g butter, soft · 150 g sugar · 130 g ground almonds · 3 pcs eggs · 40 g plain flour · 1 pinch salt · 2 tbsp dark rum
Soak with rum while warm
After 10 minutes turn the cake out onto a rack and brush it with 2 tablespoons of rum while still warm — warm cake absorbs the rum best.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp dark rum · 100 g icing sugar
While warm — that is when the cake drinks up the rum.Cool completely
Cool the cake on the rack to room temperature, about 30 minutes. On a warm cake the glaze melts and runs off.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp dark rum · 100 g icing sugar
Pour over the rum glaze
Mix the icing sugar with a tablespoon of rum and a little water into a thick but pourable glaze. Pour it onto the centre of the cake and spread it with a spoon to the edges. Leave until set. The cake is best the next day.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp dark rum · 100 g icing sugar
Thin, to the edges — the glaze should be translucent.
Before you start
Alcohol-free version
Replace the rum with orange juice and a drop of vanilla extract — in the batter, for soaking and in the glaze. The cake will be less pronounced, but still moist and almondy.
Ground almonds
Blanched, skinless almonds ground finely are best. Almonds with skins give a darker cake with a more rustic flavour.
Storage
Wrapped in film, the cake keeps a week at room temperature, and the rum and almond flavour deepens day by day.
