Menu
  • Shop
  • Home
    • Start Here
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Press and Media
    • Newsletters
    • Close
  • Art & Culture
    • Books & Films
    • Music & Art
    • SHOP – Books for Francophiles
    • Close
  • Food & Wine
    • Cafes & Restaurants
    • Food Recipes
    • Wine & Drinks
    • Close
  • Living In France
    • Our French Life – Our French Life Series
    • Legal & Finance
    • Cars
    • Décor & Fashion
    • Education
    • Expat Stories
    • Health
    • Homes
    • Pets
    • Property
      • Buying & Renting
      • For Sale
      • Renovating
    • Close
  • Regions of France
    • Central France & Alps
      • Burgundy & Franche-Comté
      • Massif Central
      • Rhone Valley & French Alps
    • Northwest France
      • Alsace & Lorraine
      • Champagne
      • Le Nord & Picardy
    • Paris & Ile De France
    • South Of France
      • Languedoc-Roussillon
      • Provence & Cote D’azur
    • Southwest France
      • Perigord, Quercy & Gascony
      • Poitou & Aquitaine
      • Pyrenees
    • Western France
      • Brittany
      • Loire Valley
      • Normandy
    • Close
  • Holidays & Events
    • Accommodation
    • Cruising In France
    • Markets
      • Antique Markets
      • Christmas Markets
      • Fresh Produce Markets
    • Museums, Chateau & Monuments
    • Special Interest Locations
    • What’s On
      • Concerts
      • Fetes & Festivals
      • Traditions
      • What I’m Loving
    • Close

A French Collection

France + All Things French

You are here: Home / Archives for french cakes

What is a Canelé? The Story of Bordeaux Famous Pastry

Canelés in a box

What is a Canelé? The Story of Bordeaux Famous Pastry

Do you know the story of Bordeaux famous pastry the canelé? Have you eaten a canelé de Bordeaux? There are certain things you see, do or eat in France that once experienced, you simply have to do or eat again. The canelé de Bordeaux is very much one of those things. Let's start with what is a canelé. A canelé is a small, dark, ridged, and gleaming little pastry that looks rather like a piece of mahogany-coloured architecture with its high ridged sides and dark colour.

Once you bite through the caramelised crust and taste the soft, custard-like interior infused with vanilla and dark rum, you'll understand immediately why the people of Bordeaux have been devoted to this small cake for centuries. It is one of those things that once tasted is never forgotten. We look into the story and history of Bordeaux famous pastry, the canelé, in this post. [Photo of Bordeaux town above}

Continue Reading

The Best of Breton Cakes – Brittany’s Most Popular Desserts

Breton Cakes

Life in Brittany includes our fair share of delicious cakes and especially the cakes traditional to the region which are collectively called 'Breton cakes', even though this broadly includes biscuits, lollipops and caramels. 

The Best of Breton Cakes - Brittany's Most Popular Desserts

Breton cakes are famous for their layers of pastry and creamy butter which is proudly produced locally. The most well known of the 'Breton Cakes' is the Gâteau Breton (Breton Cake), Far Breton and the Kouign-Amann. Surprisingly, the popularity of these desserts with inhabitants of Brittany doesn't correspond with how well known in general.

Sweets that have originated in the region include Salted Caramels, Niniches (artisanal lollipops from Quiberon), and Gavotte (a lacy golden mini crêpe). Breton butter cookies (Sablés Breton) are also a very popular dessert in Brittany. You'll find them in prettily packaged in tins in just about all supermarkets, souvenir stores, markets and in many boutique boulangeries.

Continue Reading

Kouign Amann Recipe

Kouign Amann Recipe

Kouign Amann - A Traditional Buttery Dessert of Breton

In Brittany, cakes and biscuits are known for their star ingredient, butter and ranking right up the top of Breton favourites is the Kouign Amann. Invented in Douarnenez around 1865 according to Bretagne Tourisme, this speciality cake is made with a few simple ingredients and is essentially a bread dough to which you add sugar and salted butter, and then fold repeatedly like making puff pastry. The quality of the salted butter and the resting time of the dough are both essential to the success of baking this cake. During baking, the butter-sugar mixture melts, and gives the cake a crusty caramelised outside and a soft layered inside. 

This regional speciality that is sold in boulangeries all over Brittany, even has its own association, the Véritable kouigan amann de Douarnenez Association. The Association is made up of bakers and pastry chefs who promote the Kouign Amann.

Continue Reading

Follow Us

Annette of A French Collection

BONJOUR ET BIENVENUE

Bonjour, I’m Annette, an Australian who’s been living part-time in Brittany since buying our second home in 2009 in a tiny farming village. With extensive time in Paris, visiting châteaux and gardens, historic sites and towns, and exploring my region of Brittany, A French Collection is your go-to for everything French. Enjoy A French Life with me!

SHOP FRENCH GROCERIES ONLINE

French groceries from online supermarket

POPULAR POSTS TO READ

Where to Find Wisteria in Paris
Dinan, France
Amazing Dinan - Discover the Top 5 Attractions
Claude Monet House
Claude Monet's House - A Visitors Complete Guide
Mont Saint-Michel
A Complete Guide to Mont-Saint Michel
Discover Stunning French Chateaux
French Street Signs - Famous People & Places
Paris in the Fall
20 Inspiring Photos of Paris in the Fall

FRENCH STRIPES GIFT GUIDE

French Stripes

SHOP OUR GIFTWARE RANGE

Gifts for Francophiles

SHOP OUR COLLECTIONS ON AMAZON

PLAN YOUR PARIS TRIP

  • Your Travel Checklist to Visiting France
  • Where to Stay in Paris
  • 29 Iconic Places to See in Paris
  • What to do in Saint-Germain-des-Prés
  • Enjoy a luxury afternoon tea at the Ritz
  • What to See and Do in Montparnasse
  • Visit the Top 10 Secret Gardens in Paris
  • A Guide to Visiting Montmartre
  • Where to Ride a Carousel in Paris
  • Day Trip to Claude Monet’s Garden
  • Day Trip to Château Versailles

 

PLAN YOUR BRITTANY TRIP

  • What to Do on the Pink Granite Coast
  • Dinan’s Stunning Top 5 Attractions
  • The Incredible Megaliths of Brittany
  • Visit Combourg’s Medieval Castle
  • Locronan – The Most Beautiful Town in France
  • 6 of the Best Beaches in Brittany
  • A Guide to Quintin – A Charming Town
  • How to Visit the Famous Town of Pont-Aven
  • Take a boat trip in flower-filled Pontrieux

SHOP OUR AMAZON COLLECTIONS

French Country Kitchen StyleABOUT US – PRESS & MEDIA PAGE

SHOP OUR GIFTWARE RANGE

Copyright © 2026 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in