Galette Charentaise

Galette charentaise is a flat baked sweet made with butter, from the Charente region of western France. The round cake, browned on top, is cut into pieces to eat. It is made mainly with wheat flour, eggs, sugar and butter, and some versions also add candied angelica.

A Soft Dough Made with Butter

In one local example, softened butter is creamed with sugar, and then eggs, flour, a leavening agent and chopped angelica are added. The dough is chilled to make it easier to handle, rolled out to a thickness of about 1.5–2 centimeters, brushed with egg yolk and marked with a pattern using a fork, then baked so that the center stays soft. Chilling a butter-rich dough makes it easier to shape.

In another home recipe introduced in Japan, eggs and sugar are whipped and the flour is mixed in, after which butter beaten to a creamy consistency is added, and the batter is poured into a mold and baked. Sprinkling granulated sugar over the top gives a crisp surface in contrast to the soft interior. In another recipe from Charente, the edge is pressed inward with the fingers to form a wavy rim before a pattern is made on the surface.

Broyé du Poitou, from a nearby area, is also a flat sweet made with butter, but the Charente galette is generally described as having a softer texture. It is said to have been served fresh from the oven with coffee or white wine. Angelica is not always included, and some versions leave it out. Today, versions filled with prunes, apples, raspberries and other fillings are also made, so several flavors appear under the same name.

Baked for Celebratory Gatherings

The galette was once a familiar sweet prepared for family celebrations. Regional accounts from the 1930s describe it as a “gathering cake” made for weddings, baptisms and festivals. Besides being baked at home, for large gatherings it was sometimes made by bakers. Bakers are said to have made each cake based on the recette (the proportions of ingredients and method) passed down in the household.

Charly Grenon, who researched local history, notes that the word “alise,” referring to a butter galette, was recorded in 19th-century La Rochelle. Later, galettes known by the names of individual shops also appeared. With home and baker methods overlapping, the galette has long been cherished as a sweet of this region.

Glossary