Gâteau de plomb was a style of 19th-century

shortcake Shortcake generally refers to a dessert with a crumbly scone-like texture. There are multiple variations of shortcake, most of which are served with fruit and cream. One of the most popular is strawberry shortcake, which is typically served wit ...

pastry made with butter, eggs and cream, similar to

biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. ...

History

There are recipes for ''gâteau de plomb'' in ''

Le Cuisinier Impérial André Viard's ''Le Cuisinier Impérial'' (Paris: J.-N. Barba, 1806) was a culinary encyclopedia that passed through at least thirty-two editions in its long career as the essential reference work for the French professional chef during the ninete ...

'' and in

Marie-Antoine Carême Marie-Antoine Carême (; 8 June 1783 or 178412 January 1833), known as Antonin Carême, was a leading French chef of the early 19th century. Carême was born in Paris to a poor family and, when still a child, worked in a cheap restaurant. La ...

's '' Le Pâtissier royal parisien''. Carême's recipe is for a dough with a consistency "a little stiffer than the paste for the brioches" that is baked in copper or tin molds with fluted sides, similar in appearance to modern brioche molds. Carême's variations on the basic recipe are made with citron, aniseed, orange flower, lemon peel, raisins, vanilla, chestnuts, and even some versions made with cheeses like gruyere and

brie Brie ( ; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie (itself from Gaulish ''briga'', "hill, height"), the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in colour with a slight gre ...

. The "Anglo-Francais" version is made with citron, raisins and Jamaican rum. In the ''Livre de Cuisine'' recipe by

Jules Gouffé Martin Jules Gouffé (; 1807 – 28 February 1877) was a French chef and pâtissier, nicknamed ("The apostle of decorative cooking"). He had a deep impact on the development of French gastronomy by publishing unusually simple and precise r ...

(translated into English by Alphonse Gouffe, head pastry chef to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

) the pastry was prepared with similar ingredients and shaped into a thick round loaf. The edges were scored and a pattern cut on top and tied around the edge with buttered parchment to control spread in the oven. Small cakes made this way were a breakfast food.

Preparation

''Gâteau de plomb'' is made by rubbing butter into flour to obtain a crumbly mixture used to form a sweet

paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

with sugar, eggs and cream added. It can be scored and baked as one large roll, tied with parchment to retain its shape, or formed into small cakes.

In popular culture

Frances Milton Trollope Frances Milton Trollope, also known as Fanny Trollope (10 March 1779 – 6 October 1863), was an English novelist who wrote as Mrs. Trollope or Mrs. Frances Trollope. Her book, '' Domestic Manners of the Americans'' (1832), observations from a ...

, in the 19th-century

Victorian novel Victorian literature is English literature during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). In the Victorian era, the novel became the leading literary genre in English. English writing from this era reflects the major transformations in most ...

'' Second Love, Or, Beauty and Intellect'', wrote:Trollope, F.M. (1851)
Second Love, Or, Beauty and Intellect
'

"The three brothers were all military men. The eldest, as the declared heir of both father and mother, was a great gentleman, and favored, as is usual in such cases, with one of those easy and pleasant little staff appointments which may be considered as the sugarplums in that honorable ''gâteau de plomb'', a soldier's life."

References

French pastries Victorian cuisine Breakfast dishes Biscuits {{France-dessert-stub