local speciality Kouign amann - Plomarc'h

The Kouign Amann

Kouign Amann, an irresistible cake of butter and sugar

If the Sardine is the Queen of Douarnenez Bay, the Kouign Amann is it’s king ! Emblem of the city and its territory, the famous typically Douarnenist cake is one of the most famous Breton dishes.

A sweet treat typical of Douarnenez

Kouign Amann means ‘cake of butter’ in the Breton language, so-called because the recipe is based on a bread mixture with added butter and sugar, that miraculously becomes a flaky, caramelised delight for the palate. This dish is now iconic here as it was created in Douarnenez on a day that made history, in 1860.

Recette : le kouign-amann - Météo à la carte

Douarnenez's Kouign Amann breton butter cake

Local baker Yves René Scordia was having a particularly busy day – so much so that he ran out of cakes to offer his hungry customers. He decided to improvise a new recipe using the ingredients that he had to hand: bread dough, butter and sugar. He used the same technique that is used for flaky pastry, folding the dough over and over to create countless fine layers. The result was surprising: a flaky pastry oozing butter and sugar hat was soft in the centre with a crisp, caramelised outside.

Today, bakers of the ‘Association du Véritable Kouign Amann de Douarnenez’ (the group of genuine Kouign-Amann bakers) ensure that this savoir- faire is alive and well. Make sure you pay them a visit while you’re in the area!