This Gâteau à la crème is basically heaven on a plate – think fluffy brioche topped with the creamy lemon custard. A basic custard that shines with the lemon flavoring, it’s almost too simple to be so delicious!
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🍰 While this version features bright lemon custard, the base recipe adapts beautifully to other flavors like vanilla, orange, or even chocolate!
My 2 Best Tips For Making Gâteau à la crème
Butter Temperature: Ensure your butter is at cool room temperature, it should give slightly when pressed but not be soft or melty. Properly tempered butter incorporates smoothly into the brioche dough without breaking the gluten structure or creating a greasy texture.
Custard Consistency: Whisk the custard ingredients until completely smooth to eliminate any lumps that could affect the final texture. The mixture should be pourable but not too thin, it should coat the back of a spoon lightly when properly combined.
The cream filling calls for crème fraîche, which can be expensive and hard to find in my neck of the woods, so I made my own the day before I wanted to use it in this recipe. It’s so easy, there really isn’t a reason not to make your own. I used Emeril Lagasse’s crème fraîche recipe on the Food Network.
Work gently when shaping the brioche base to avoid tearing the delicate dough. The key is pressing from the center outward rather than stretching, which maintains the dough’s integrity and creates an even thickness throughout.
You can serve it as an elegant dessert after dinner or enjoy a slice with your afternoon coffee! I love eating it slightly warm with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or just on its own to savor that amazing lemon custard!
🩷 Melissa
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Perfect Gâteau à la crème: Buttery French Custard Tart
Ingredients
Brioche Dough
- 1 ⅔ cups all purpose flour (250 grams)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed & at cool room temperature
Lemon Custard
- 6 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 lemon juice and zest
- 1 cup crème fraîche*
Finish
- 1 egg beaten
- pearl or nib sugar
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough hook with salt on the very bottom and yeast on top.
- Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks and mix on low until the dough starts to come together, about 3 minutes.
- Turn up the speed to about medium and allow to knead for another 5 minutes, or until the dough starts to pull away from the bowl.
- One by one, start adding cubes of butter to the bowl and continue to mix until all the butter is incorporated, 2-3 minutes.
- Remove bowl from mixer and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside at warm room temperature for 1 hour. Refrigerate for 1 hour longer. (This makes the dough easier to work with.)
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly flour a work surface. Divide the dough in half.
- One piece at a time, form the dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Gently continue to press the dough flat and spread it into a circle that is 9-inches in diameter; start from the middle and press outward, leaving a 1-inch border, as best you can. Or make it slightly larger and build up your own edge. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
- Note: Take care not to stretch the dough and to keep the dough even in thickness. (You can either do the flattening on the parchment-lined tray itself, or do it on your work surface and carefully transfer it over.)
- Gently set a piece of plastic wrap over the dough circles and set aside at warm room temperature for 25 minutes.
Make the Lemon Custard
- Mix the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice together in a large mixing bowl and gradually mix in the crème fraîche. Set aside.
Finish the Gâteau à la crème
- Preheat the oven to 360°F. (If your oven doesn't have a 360° mark, you can do what I do and just stick it somewhere between the 350 and 375 marks.)
- Prick the base of the dough all over with a fork. Brush the rim of both rounds with the beaten egg, and then scatter as much nib sugar over as you wish.
- Divide the custard between the two rounds, filling them full. You may have just a bit of custard left over. No worries…eat that part with a spoon while you're waiting!
- Carefully slide the tray into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges are risen and golden brown. The filling should still look a bit wobbly, but it will be bubbling around the edges.
- Set the tray on a rack to cool. Cut into wedges and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
How To Make Gateau a la Creme
Step 1: Mix flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and eggs in a stand mixer until combined, then knead for 5 minutes. Gradually add butter cubes and mix until fully incorporated, then let the dough rise for 1 hour at room temperature and 1 hour in the fridge.
Step 2: Divide the chilled dough in half and gently press each piece into 9-inch circles on parchment paper. Let the shaped dough rest for 25 minutes at room temperature while you prepare the custard.
Step 3: Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and zest in a bowl. Gradually mix in the crème fraîche until smooth and set aside.
Step 4: Prick the dough bases with a fork, brush edges with beaten egg, and sprinkle with pearl sugar. Pour the custard into each base and bake at 360°F for 25-30 minutes until golden and slightly wobbly in the center.
Recipe FAQs
You can substitute heavy cream or make your own crème fraîche by mixing 1 cup heavy cream with 1 tablespoon buttermilk and letting it sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours. Sour cream can also work as a substitute, though it will create a slightly tangier flavor profile.
Custard curdles when exposed to excessive heat or temperature fluctuations, so ensure your oven temperature is accurate and avoid opening the door frequently. If your oven runs hot, reduce the temperature by 25°F and extend the baking time slightly.
The dough should roughly double in size and feel light and airy when gently poked. It should spring back slowly when pressed lightly with your finger, indicating proper fermentation has occurred.
More Delicious Pudding & Custard Recipes to Try
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Elizabeth
That’s so funny that your family thought the gateau wasn’t sweet enough! My husband must be related to them; he didn’t think the gateau was sweet enough as a dessert but he thought it was okay for breakfast.
Homemade creme fraiche is great, isn’t it? I was too lazy to go out to get cream and buttermilk though, so we used a combination of cream cheese and yoghurt to replace the creme fraiche.
I must say that I think your gateaux turned out beautifully! I feel certain that it was exactly the right sweetness!
Lien
Wonderful bread Barbara! And even made your own crème fraîche, wow.
Thanks for baking with us. (I’ll add you to the round up)
Nutmeg Nanny
oh, this looks heavenly 🙂 my mouth is watering for this luscious creation!
Valérie (Franche-Comté)
Chez nous c’est un gâteau de fête
Tout cela est bien appétissant
Je te souhaite une belle journée
Valérie.
teresa
oh what a divine treat! i love the lemon filling!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
Love anything with sweet tangy lemon filling.
Rosie @ Blueberry Kitchen
Oh yum, this sounds so delicious!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
My French grandmother would make a brioche and sprinkle brown sugar on the bottom and cover it with vanilla custard. Yours reminds me of her. It looks perfect!
Emily
This looks so dang yummy! And it has such a super fancy name…it must be good. 🙂
Samta
Wow! these look super yummy. I wish I could grab one for myself!
First time here – and I love your space.
I am now a follower 🙂
Kitchen Belleicious
i don’t think I have ever had one of these but I am wishing I had one right now! It looks delicious-especially perfect for spring time with the lemon filling
Rocky Mountain Woman
This looks just perfect to me. I love anything lemony and tart.
Ella G
These look so good! I would love the cream filling. I am dying to try this! I am wondering how you could make it sweeter though. Please respond and tell me! Thanks for sharing this wonderful content with us! Great job!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks! If you want it sweeter, I would try doubling the sugar in both the dough and filling recipe.
Becky
The cream filling in these looks almost custard-y! I’m sure they were delicious!
Foodiewife
Wow. I have never heard of this, but I have to tell you that I’m totally lusting for this. I love anything custard, and there is a bag of Meyer lemons in my fridge screaming to be transformed into something worthwhile. This could be it! Did you think the dough was sweet enough, or would you adapt it with a little more sugar? I might be tempted to use vanilla sugar? I love that it’s a free-form kind of tart. those are fun to make.
Barbara Schieving
If I made it again for my family who like things very sweet, I would add more sugar to the dough and the filling. Vanilla sugar would be a great addition.
Barbara | Creative Culinary
These look wonderful. They would look that way in any event but now that my kitchen is packed for a move, everything looks particularly good because I can’t make any of it. 🙂
carrian
oh my good mercy!!! Are you kidding me? I had no idea how amazing this was going to be as I couldn’t say the name. I’ll just call it deliciousness
Traci
I’m feeling really dumb right now because I can’t even pronounce the words in this treat but am loving the look and ingredients. This will definetely be going on my must make list. Anything with lemon makes me a fan. 🙂
Erin @ Texanerin Baking
Those look amazing! I bet I would have loved them if other people thought they weren’t sweet enough. 🙂
And I had no idea you could make creme fraiche! It’s easier and cheaper to find where I live than sour cream but sometimes I run out and when I do, I’m going to use that recipe. Thanks!
Rosa
Delicious! This French speciality is very similar to “Salée A La Crème” (a Vaud treat) which my Swiss grandmother made…
Cheers,
Rosa