Gâteau battu — tall Picard enriched yeast cake
Gâteau battu is associated with the Vimeu and Baie de Somme area of Picardy and is built differently from an ordinary brioche. The dough is exceptionally rich in yolks and butter, receives prolonged beating, and rises in a tall fluted cylindrical mould that gives the finished cake its chef’s-hat silhouette. A low ring mould would change both the shape and the way the enriched dough bakes.
The dough begins with flour, six yolks, one whole egg and fresh baker’s yeast dispersed in water at about 28 °C. It is beaten intensively for 20 minutes in total, with sugar and salt incorporated during that period, then given its first rise before the softened butter is worked in. The butter must be soft, not melted or hot; excess heat weakens the yeast and makes the dough greasy.
Three fermentation stages develop the unusually light crumb: the first rise, a second rise after butter incorporation, and a final rise in the mould after gentle knocking back. Clock times are planning guides, while volume remains the decisive cue. The cake bakes at 170 °C until its crust is deep brown, the centre reaches about 93 °C and a skewer comes out clean, then cools fully before unmoulding.
