Kouign Aman from Tiong Bahru Bakery

Usually, once I find something I like from a restaurant, I tend to stick with that "something" for a bit and it usually takes a while before I'd try out something new from the restaurant. It's the same with bakeries, cafes and hawker stalls.

However, it was upon my second visit that I decided to try the Kouign Aman instead of buying a croissant.

Oh, I wanted to order their croissant, which I think is the best I've eaten in Singapore. But my colleague insisted I try this pastry instead.

It was VERY GOOD.

Very sinfully buttery and sweet.. but oh.. so good.

It was crispy, even more crispy than their croissant because of the caramelised sugar coating all over the pastry. It was also more buttery than the croissant and much sweeter.. but it went so well with a cup of hot, strong tea without sugar.

The pastry is crispy and flaky all around the sides and as you bite into the centre, it gets more pillowy and moist. It is also slightly (very slightly) salty and that balances up the sweetness of the pastry.

This pastry is called Kouign Aman (Or Kouign Amann, with a slightly different spelling). I later on learnt that Kouign Amann is not strictly a pastry but a crusty cake. It is made with bread dough containing layers of butter and sugar folded in, similar in fashion to puff pastry albeit with fewer layers. The resulting cake is baked slowly until the butter puffs up the dough and the sugar caramelizes.

This blog details out how this cake is made.. it is really a complicated cake to make.. and the amount of butter and sugar used is slightly disconcerting. This cake is from Brittany and ‘Kouign’ means cake and ‘Amann’ means butter. Well, considering the amount used, it's a very good name for this cake.

Tiong Bahru Bakery by Gontran Cherrier

252 North Bridge Road #B1-11/12
Raffles City Shopping Centre