A Breton butter cake is a proud product of Brittany's butter-rich baking tradition: dense, golden and unapologetically indulgent. Helen Goh's version uses salted butter, with an added pinch of flaky salt to sharpen the flavour. It also takes a small detour from tradition: a slick of marmalade brings a fragrant bitterness, while a handful of ground almonds softens the overall richness and lends a tender crumb.
For the cake, you will need 180g room-temperature salted butter, 150g caster sugar, finely grated zest of one orange, seeds from half a vanilla bean pod, four large egg yolks, 200g plain flour, 60g ground almonds, half a teaspoon of flaky sea salt, and 160g marmalade. Grease a 20cm round cake tin with a removable base. Beat the butter, sugar, orange zest and vanilla until creamy, then add egg yolks one at a time. Sift the flour, stir in ground almonds and salt, then add to the wet mixture to form a dough.
Spread half the dough (about 300g) evenly over the base of the tin, then freeze for 15 minutes. Dollop the marmalade on top and spread into an even layer, leaving a 1cm border. Freeze again for 15 minutes, then cover with the remaining batter. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Make a glaze with one egg yolk, one tablespoon of milk or cream, and a pinch of salt. Brush over the cake, score a cross-hatch pattern with a fork, and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown. Cool, release from the tin, and serve in small slices with strong coffee.
