TODAY’S WORD: GÂTEAU FOU

un gâteau fou [gah-toh foo]
masculine noun phrase

Literally, “a crazy cake.” It’s our playful French name for Wacky Cake.

Pour ce gâteau fou, pas besoin de cul-de-poule. On touille tout directement dans le moule !
For this wacky cake, there’s no need for a mixing bowl. Just stir everything together right in the baking pan!

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

Calling all gourmands… Have you ever heard of Wacky Cake or had the chance to taste it? Maybe you know it from one of its pseudonyms such as War Cake or Depression Cake. Today we’re calling it Gâteau Fou for the sake of French (a language we must keep in the spotlight for as long as God’s green earth will produce cacao!).

Recently I happened upon the recette for this moist and rich Gâteau Farfelu (yet another alias) and, je vous le jure, even without eggs or butter or a mixing bowl… c’est si bon ! Just ask Jean-Marc, who took it with him to the Alps last weekend, or Mom, who was caught, spoon in hand, eating a lemon version right from the pan. (That night Ricci enjoyed a shower of citrusy crumbs falling from the countertop like manna from Heaven.)

Back to that mixing bowl you won’t need. I learned a most colorful term for it in French and it made me blush: cul-de-poule. Here’s a second for you to translate…

That’s right. Chicken butt.

The real reason to skip the mixing bowl? One less thing to wash. This cake belongs to a tradition of make-do baking, when eggs and butter were hard to come by. You can touiller everything directly in a 20 × 20 cm (8 × 8-inch) baking pan. No need to grease or flour it first.

I’ll be making this cake for as long as I can speak French. We’ve got to keep a delicious language and a delicious recipe in circulation. Now put your chicken butt back in the drawer and line up the following ingredients. Bon appétit !

GÂTEAU FOU (WACKY CAKE)

For one 20 × 20 cm (8 × 8-inch) pan

• 1½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate alimentaire)
• ½ teaspoon fine salt
• 5 tablespoons (75 ml) neutral oil
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup (240 ml) cold water (or cooled coffee, to deepen the chocolate flavor)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Stir the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together directly in the pan. Add the oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water or cooled coffee. Stir just until no dry streaks remain, making sure to reach the corners.

Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Let cool in the pan.

Notes: this cake is most forgiving. Out of vinegar? Use lemon juice. I also swapped olive oil for the “neutral oil” and it still turned out delicious. By my third cake, I completely forgot the vinegar, which works with the baking soda to help the cake rise…and it still turned out good!

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FRENCH VOCABULARY

un cul-de-poule = a mixing bowl
un gourmand / une gourmande = someone who loves good food
un gâteau fou = a crazy cake, or “Wacky Cake”
une recette = a recipe
un gâteau farfelu = a wacky or quirky cake
je vous le jure = I swear to you
c’est si bon ! = it’s so good!
touiller = to stir or mix (informal)
bon appétit ! = enjoy your meal!

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