Household cake (Gâteau de ménage)
A traditional recipe from Franche-comté, it's a flat round kind of brioche, covered with an egg cream called "Goumeau".
Last modified on: July 15th 2026
For 2 cakes, you will need:
- 1
250 g flour - 2
10 g yeast - 3
5 g fine (or table) salt - 4
30 g caster sugar - 5
50 ml milk - 6
50 ml liquid cream - 7
2 eggs - 8
130 g butter - 9 50 g caster sugar
- 10
10 g vanilla sugar - 11
3 egg yolks - 12 200 ml cream
- Total weight: 945 grams
Times for this recipe
Preparation
35 min.
Resting
3 hours
Cooking
25 min.
All in all
3 hours 60 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
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Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - ⌛ 5 min.
In the mixer bowl, pour in lukewarm 50 ml milk, 50 ml liquid cream, 5 g fine (or table) salt, and 30 g caster sugar.
Add 250 g flour, 10 g yeast, and 2 eggs.
Add 250 g flour, 10 g yeast, and 2 eggs.
Stage 2 - ⌛ 5 min.
Start the mixer at low speed until mixture is homogeneous.
Turn the speed up a little, then add 130 g butter a little at a time.
Continue mixing for a few minutes until the mixture is homogeneous.
Turn the speed up a little, then add 130 g butter a little at a time.
Continue mixing for a few minutes until the mixture is homogeneous.
Stage 3 - ⌛ 2 hours
Gather up the dough, and put under a damp tea-towel in a warm place for about 2 hours.
Stage 4 - ⌛ 10 min.
Meanwhile, prepare the cream:
In a bowl mix 50 g caster sugar, 10 g vanilla sugar, 3 egg yolks and 200 ml cream.
In a bowl mix 50 g caster sugar, 10 g vanilla sugar, 3 egg yolks and 200 ml cream.
Stage 5
Check that the dough has about doubled in size.
Stage 6 - ⌛ 3 min.
Tip onto floured working surface, and divide in two.
Stage 7 - ⌛ 5 min.
Put each half into a pie dish, mould or tin.
Stage 8 - ⌛ 1 hour
And with your hand (dusted with flour to avoid sticking), spread dough evenly over the dish.
Cover with a plastic sheet and leave to rise for one hour.
Cover with a plastic sheet and leave to rise for one hour.
Stage 9
At the end of this time, preheat oven to 200°C or 392°F.
Stage 10 - ⌛ 3 min.
With a tablespoon (dusted with flour to avoid sticking), create a kind of hollow in the centre of the pie to receive the cream filling.
Stage 11 - ⌛ 3 min.
Pour half of the cream in the centre of each cake, and put in the oven without delay.
Stage 12 - ⌛ 25 min.
Remove from the oven when the cake is golden brown, after about 25 minutes.
Remarks
The domestic cake or "goumeau cake" goes dry rapidly, so best eaten on the day it's made.
Unfortunately it's getting difficult to find a good household cake, even in its region of origin,the Haut-Doubs. By "good", I mean: fresh-baked that day, light, not just sweetened in a hurry, but with a true cream. It's a great pity that bakers from Franche-comté are allowing this traditional recipe to be forgotten.
Unfortunately it's getting difficult to find a good household cake, even in its region of origin,the Haut-Doubs. By "good", I mean: fresh-baked that day, light, not just sweetened in a hurry, but with a true cream. It's a great pity that bakers from Franche-comté are allowing this traditional recipe to be forgotten.
Source: Home made.
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Nutritional information
| Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats | Calories | Energy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per 100 g | 6 g RDI=10 % | 35 g RDI=13 % | 23 g RDI=32 % | 356 kcal RDI=18 % | 1,494 kJ RDI=18 % |
| Per cake | 29 g RDI=46 % | 165 g RDI=62 % | 109 g RDI=150 % | 1,686 kcal RDI=84 % | 7,060 kJ RDI=84 % |
| Whole recipe | 59 g RDI=92 % | 331 g RDI=125 % | 219 g RDI=300 % | 3,372 kcal RDI=169 % | 14,121 kJ RDI=169 % |
How much will it cost?
For 2 cakes
3.35 €
Per cake
1.70 €
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)
Cream
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Butter
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The 6 comments already posted on this recipe
It’s not actually that simple a recipe; it’s a traditional, regional cake made with yeast dough, which requires a bit of effort and careful attention to the timing.
why did you go out of your way to make a simple recipe so,difficult to follow?
Also, if you are going to provide the option of clicking to make half or double the default amount of two cakes, it would be helpful to footnote the instructions that accompany the photos. I clicked to make half a recipe, and almost got tricked into dividing one cake’s worth of batter into two pans.