Kouign-amann is a Bretoncake, described in the New York Times as "the fattiest pastry in all of Europe." The name comes from the Breton languagewords for cake and butter. It is a round multi-layered cake, originally made with bread dough, containing layers of butter and sugar folded in, similar in fashion to puff pastry albeit with fewer layers. The cake is slowly baked until the butter puffs up the dough and the sugar caramelizes. The effect is similar to a muffin-shaped, caramelized croissant.
History
Kouign-amann is a specialty of the town of Douarnenez in Finistère, Brittany, where it originated around 1860. The invention is attributed to Yves-René Scordia.
Recipe
The strict recipe of Douarnenez requires a ratio of 40 percent dough, 30 percent butter, and 30 percent sugar. Traditionally, kouign-amann is baked as a large cake and served in slices, although recently, especially in North America, individual cupcake-sized pastries have become more popular. The name derives from the Breton language words for cake and butter. The Welsh equivalent is the etymologically identical cacen menyn, literally 'cake butter'.
Popularity
In 2014, episode 7 of series 5 of the BBC's The Great British Bake Off featured the kouign amann. In 2015, notable bakeries in New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Salt Lake City and San Francisco began to sell the pastry. The Dominique Ansel Bakery, home of the trendy cronut, sells a version of kouign amann called the DKA. Village Baking Co.'s Boulangerie offers a chocolate kouign amann in Dallas. In Denver, several bakeries offer varieties; some shorten the name to "queen.". They can also be found at Faria Bakery in Sacramento, CA, Little Gourmand in Nashville, TN, and in bakeries across the island of Oahu. Kouign-amann is also available in Canada at the Pâtisserie au Kouign Amann in Montréal, Macarons et Madeleines, La Maison du Kouign-Amann in Ottawa, the Blacksmith Bakery in Langley, B.C., and at The Bench Bakehouse in Vancouver.
