Savarins are for me as madeleines are for Proust. They smell and taste like my childhood. I grew up in northern France where winters can be quite rough, so to warm my siblings and I up on cold, Sunday afternoons, my grandmother would sometimes bake savarins (typically with orange zests and orange blossom syrup poured on top). We would devour a slice or two with a hot tea or a hot chocolate.
My savarin recipe features lemon, but there are many different varieties of savarins (vanilla, orange blossom, nuts, honey, rum, pumpkin, spices, fruits, and even floral flavors like lavender and rose). The possibilities are endless.
A savarin is a French type of cake that has the shape of a crown that was invented in the 19th century. Its creators called it ”savarin” as a tribute to the French gastronome and writer Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.
Savarins have the shape of a crown because of the mold they are baked in. Any type of cake can be made in this type of mold, but these molds are better adapted to thick batters, such as the savarins. The crown mold is also practical for a short baking time to give a light and aerial texture. Indeed, the opening in the middle helps to spread the heat from the center of the cake outwards, assuring a homogeneous cooking.
Savarins tend to be rich and one cake can serve from 8 to 12 people! Don’t worry if you have leftovers, most savarins are made with a lot of butter and taste even better the next day. You can easily keep them for a few days in an air-tight box, or even freeze slices (if you do freeze some, be sure to separate each slice with parchment paper to avoid them sticking to each other).
I hope you enjoy this seasonal recipe as much as my family does. If you make my Lemon Savarin recipe, take a picture and tag me on Instagram so I can see your cooking! Also, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think about this cake!
Bon appétit!
SAVARIN 1. Preheat the oven to 355 degrees. Butter and flour the bottom of the mold. 2. Sift the flour, baking soda and a pinch of salt over a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the butter with the sugar and lemon zest using an electric mixer. Whisk until the mixture whitens. 3. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks, and incorporate the egg yolks progressively into the bowl. Add the flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk to the mixture without stopping whisking. 4. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until firm, and add them gently to the batter. Pour the batter in the mold and bake it for 45 to 55 minutes. The cake is done when you insert a blade of a knife into the center of the cake and it comes out clean. 5. Let it cool down 10 minutes and unmold the cake. SYRUP In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil. Then, pour the syrup on top of the cake. You can recover the syrup that leaked on the plate and pour it back on the cake until it is fully absorbed.
Ingredients
Instructions