Breton Buckwheat Cake/Gâteau Breton au Sarrasin

I originally purchased a bag of buckwheat flour for the “nuttiness” and texture that it adds to crêpes.

However, as one cannot live on crêpes alone, I realized it was time to find out what else this bag of flour could be used for.

One of the first things I found out is that buckwheat flour is technically not a flour, as buckwheat itself is not a grass. It belongs to a family of flowering plants that are considered “pseudocereals”. The flour is produced by grinding the triangular seeds, with the characteristic black specks coming from the ground seed hull.

While it may be a dorky cereal in disguise, it seems that buckwheat is actually a nutritional powerhouse. Kind of like the Clark Kent of the food world.

-Buckwheat is gluten free*.

-Buckwheat contains all 8 essential amino acids, including lysine (which wheat doesn’t have).

-Buckwheat contains easily digestible carbohydrates.

-Buckwheat is high in anti-oxidants, minerals such as iron and zinc, and protein.

-Compounds in buckwheat are being investigated for the treatment of diabetes, cholesterol and for lowering body fat**.

While it’s a stretch to say that eating buckwheat will make you thin and beautiful, the thought of all those antioxidants and minerals made it easier to overlook all the butter in this Breton Buckwheat Cake recipe.  

And this cake really is all about the butter. It’s rich and buttery like a pound cake, but with a crumbly texture. There’s hint of rum, which gets more pronounced the next day. You can serve it with fruit, ice cream, whipped cream, or, as I did, with a rum butter sauce (after all, what’s a little more butter if you’ve got buckwheat?)

Breton Buckwheat Cake/Gâteau Breton au Sarrasin

Adapted from TheSweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz

For the cake:
7/8 cup (140g) buckwheat flour
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 pound (240g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dark rum

For the glaze
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon milk

1/3 teaspoon of salt (optional)

Butter a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together the buckwheat and all-purpose flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the cinnamon.

In a large bowl, use a mixer to beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until smooth.

In a cereal/soup bowl, use a fork to beat together the 4 egg yolks and whole egg, vanilla, and rum.

Gradually add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture while beating with a mixer. After all the eggs are added, turn the mixer to high until everything gets airy.

Fold in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top as flat as possible with an offset metal spatula.

Make a glaze by mixing the single yolk and milk together with a fork, then brush it generously all over the top. Run a fork across the top to make a pattern. I went with plaid.

For an added crunch and hit of flavour, sprinkle about  1/3 teaspoon of coarse/flaky salt over the cake.

Bake for about 40-45 minutes, being careful not to over bake.  

Let the cake cool completely before unmolding.

 

A few disclaimers:
*Not so much if you mix it with regular flour, like in this recipe.
** After reading a couple of the research articles on the health benefits of buckwheat, I would say that many of the findings are premature...but really--it's not bad for you, and it tastes pretty good, so what more can you expect?