Saint-Lô cake
The cake from Saint-Lô, a town in the French department of La Manche, is a beaten cake, i.e. very moist, with a light, delicious pastry that looks a little like brioche.
2,606 5/5 (1 reviews)
3 hours 1 min.
Easy
2.20 €
1 cake
8 IngredientsLast modified on: October 29th 2025
100 g 
50 g 
2 tablespoons Calvados (apple liqueur) (optional)
125 g 
125 g 
2 g 
4 
15 g Times for this recipe
Preparation: 30 min.
Resting: 2 hours
Cooking: 35 min.
All in all: 3 hours 1 min.
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Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - ⌛ 5 min.
Stage 2 - ⌛ 5 min.
Stage 3 - ⌛ 3 min.
Start the mixer on low speed to blend well.
Stage 4 - ⌛ 3 min.
Drizzle in the butter, cream and calvados mixture without stopping the mixer.
Stage 5 - ⌛ 3 min.
Mix well.
Stage 6 - ⌛ 10 min.
Increase the mixer speed, and let the dough beat for 10 minutes.
Note: This is an essential step if you then want a light, airy cake.
Note: This is an essential step if you then want a light, airy cake.
Stage 7 - ⌛ 2 min.
Pour the dough into a buttered high-sided tin, cover with cling film or plastic sheeting, and leave to stand in a warm place for around 2 hours.
Stage 8 - ⌛ 2 hours
At the end of this time, you'll see that the dough has pushed through.
Stage 9 - ⌛ 30 min.
Preheat your oven to 180°C (360°F) and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Stage 10
Unmould as soon as you remove from the oven, otherwise the cake will stick to the tin, and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Remarks
If using semi-salted butter, do not add salt at rstp=2.
The Saint-Lô cake recipe is said to have been invented by a local restaurateur called "Le père Féret", chef of the Marignan restaurant.
The 10 minutes when the dough is beaten in step 6 are very important. If you don't do this (as in many recipes on the web), you'll end up with a dense cake that won't taste as good.
The Saint-Lô cake recipe is said to have been invented by a local restaurateur called "Le père Féret", chef of the Marignan restaurant.
The 10 minutes when the dough is beaten in step 6 are very important. If you don't do this (as in many recipes on the web), you'll end up with a dense cake that won't taste as good.
Keeping: 3 or 4 days in the fridge, protected by cling film.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
How much will it cost?
- For 1 cake : 2.20 €
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Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Flour
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Caster sugar
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Butter
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Cream
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