Gâteau à la broche

Gâteau à la broche is a cake made by turning a cone-shaped mold in front of a fire while pouring batter over it little by little, building it up in baked layers. Its surface is covered with golden, pointed spikes, and when it is sliced, thin rings of browned layers appear. It is a celebration cake rooted in the Pyrenees and Aveyron in France.

Pouring and Layering Batter in Front of the Fire

The batter uses eggs, flour, sugar and butter, and is sometimes flavored with rum, vanilla or orange blossom. In one example, a wooden cone-shaped mold wrapped in paper is set in front of the fire, and batter is poured over it as the shaft is turned. Batter that drips down is scooped from a tray below and poured back on. Because the next layer of batter is poured only after the surface has baked, and this is repeated again and again, large cakes take many hours to finish baking.

As the batter runs over the rotating mold, it sets in the heat of the fire and forms the distinctive spikes. The rings of baked layers seen in the cross-section are also a result of this method. In the Val d’Azun in the Pyrenees, some artisans carry on the wooden molds and methods handed down in their families and bake the cake over a wood fire. Wooden molds and flavorings vary from maker to maker.

Celebrations and Stories of Its Origin

Changes in the distance from the fire or the way the spit is turned also create differences in the color of the surface and the shape of the tips. Made by family members gathered in front of the fire, the cake has been eaten on days when many people come together, such as weddings and baptisms. Today it can also be found at markets and pastry shops.

The Occitanie museum network explains that at celebratory meals in Aveyron, especially at Christmas, this cake was served with an unmolded custard. The same source describes the work of one person turning the spit in front of the fire while another pours the batter, giving it as an example that takes about two hours. It is also a cake completed by the person baking and the person turning working in step with each other.

As for its origins, one story links it to a pastry chef of a Prussian king, and another says that soldiers returning from Napoleon’s army brought it back to France. Both are told as legends, and the origin of the Pyrenean cake cannot be pinned down to a single source.

Glossary