Gâteau Nantais — The Almond-Rum Cake of the West

If you know, you know. Gâteau Nantais doesn’t scream for attention. It’s the kind of cake you discover by accident in an old café near the docks. Or in your grandmother’s cupboard, half-wrapped in wax paper, growing better by the day.

 

First baked in the 18th century, when sugar and rum arrived in barrels from the Antilles, this cake became a favorite of sailors and pâtissiers alike. It keeps well. Travels well. Pleases always.

 

We had it once in a kitchen near Clisson, served after lunch with black coffee in mismatched cups. The icing cracked slightly under the knife. The crumb was dense but never heavy. And the rum — oh, the rum — not loud, but deep, like memory.

🍰 The Recipe: Gâteau Nantais

 

Serves 8

Time: 20 min prep + 35 min bake + cooling

 

Ingredients

 

For the cake:

• 125 g (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened

• 125 g (1 cup) icing sugar

• 100 g (1 cup) almond flour

• 3 eggs

• 40 g (⅓ cup) all-purpose flour

• 2 tbsp dark rum

• Zest of 1 lemon (optional)

 

For the syrup:

• 2 tbsp dark rum

• 2 tbsp water

• 2 tbsp sugar

 

For the glaze:

• 100 g (¾ cup) icing sugar

• 1½–2 tbsp dark rum

 

 

Method

 

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).

Butter and line a 20 cm (8-inch) round cake tin.

 

In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one, mixing well after each. Fold in the almond flour, lemon zest, and flour. Finish with the rum.

 

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 30–35 minutes until golden and just set in the center.

 

While the cake bakes, combine syrup ingredients in a small pan and heat gently until sugar dissolves. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, brush it generously with the syrup. Let cool completely.

 

Once cooled, whisk the glaze ingredients together until smooth and pourable. Spread over the top of the cake and let set before slicing.

🍷 Pairing Suggestion

 

Skip the wine — this one calls for a sip of dark rum, neat or with ice. Or try it the local way: with a small glass of Muscadet or Chenin blanc moelleux to contrast the sweetness.

🌿 A Note from the Table

 

Gâteau Nantais is restraint and richness in equal measure. You can keep it for days. You can wrap it for a train ride. You can eat it on a paper napkin at midnight.

 

And if you ever find yourself in Nantes with a little time and a sweet tooth, go to a bakery that looks like it hasn’t changed in 30 years. Ask if they still make it the old way. If they say yes — you’re home.