How to Make Kouign-Amann: The Perfect Pastry | Yewande Komolafe | NYT Cooking

As someone who grew up in Bretagne it's a bit wild to see this very regional cake featured here! For those who are curious, kouign means cake and amann means butter in Breton, and yes, it is the most delicious thing in the world (it's the butter!) . It's best served warm with hard apple cider 😄 This version looks gorgeous and I'm very curious about the sesame oil!

"...it falls into the sink like it did at home, I still ate it. it was delicious so..." selling point of this entire content. she was so sincere when she said it. it's that good

Yewande has the most pleasant soothing voice and energy. I can’t get enough

I was on vacation in Montreal in late December and I had a planned visit to Patisserie Au Kouign Amann on Mont Royal Avenue. My expectations were very high from everything I had read about this cake. To my surprise the place was empty at 8:00 AM. I decided to buy a large whole cake and I was eating Kouign Amann for about four days in a row 🤣. For me it is the perfect combination between salty/buttery, sweet, soft and crunchy. One of the best things I've ever tasted👌👌👌

NYT take note. Yewande is wonderful. Her process and directions were very easy to follow. Explaining why she did what she was doing was great.

I'm so happy to see someone really appreciating the original kouign amann :0 as a former Montreal resident and longtime patron of Nicolas's shop, I always thought that the big format was undoubtedly better than the little ones that got so popular a few years ago. In my mind, the kouign amann is all about the contrast between the soft buttery inside and the sweet caramelly outside. The little ones never had enough inside for me! What's also fun is that my dad had pretty much the same experience as Yewande did 15 or so years ago when we were in Montreal. He asked them if he could come early one morning to watch and learn. This was back when they didn't make them all day, so they would sometimes run out if you went in the afternoon.

I love the way Yewande approaches intimidating recipes, addressing all the common pain points that someone who's not as experienced with pastries might face. And it's nice to hear even a professional accidentally flips pastries into the sink sometimes, lol. Makes me feel like maybe I can handle this one :) Excellent video, thank you!

Every Christmas I choose two cookie recipes from Yewande and bake for friends and family. I always get rave reviews but I feel like I can never take full credit because I have such respect for Yewande and her practice. I'm excited to try this and I'm patiently waiting for her cookbook.

I have been perfecting my home baking of Claire’s amazing croissants…and now I will embrace Yewande’s gorgeous self (inside & out!) as she’ll be my new teacher of yet another laminated dough paradise ❤😊

I love the way Yewande uses all her senses to help us share her understanding of making this cake - the strands of gluten, the yeasty smell, etc. It's so helpful and also very engaging!

I made this kouign today… tonight. Holy Cats! Delish! 🎉 I too had butter all over my kitchen while mid flip! ahahaha!! Everything about this is perfect. The spices were especially perfect. The one recommendation I will give, Put A PARCHMENT LINED BAKING SHEET UNDER YOUR PAN! I have a serious mess to clean up tomorrow. But it is well worth it! 😉

Yes!!! This is the best French pastry. We're not fancy, we love sugar and butter.. Mainly butter. We're also fat ❤️

She has such a good way of teaching without really teaching. She made it seems that anyone with patience can make it. So what if it falls in the sink, just make extra sure the sink is super clean and empty, it's still good. Just in case, maybe the kitchen floor should be super clean, too. Hey accidents happen and your efforts should still be enjoyed. Make sure the pets don't get to it before you! I'm definitely going to try making it, even without a standing mixer.

Honestly it’s the best! You can pronounce it ‘Kwin Ahman’ and yes in Brittany we use demi sel beurre 😋 it’s also perfect with a cup of black coffee.

What a lovely backstory to this recipe! Yewande is so elegant.

What a wonderful teacher. I love her detailed instructions and advice. Hope we see her share many more recipes.

I love her energy and instruction in explaining this recipe! This makes me want to try lamination 😮

I’m French and Breton by my mother and I say that this cake seems really good 😍🥰 Thank you for taking the time to show us your recipe.

Yewande made me happy watching this! I'm not sure I'll try baking one because my palate doesn't favor sweets, but it was delightfully sweet just to watch her do this.

Visiting Chicago last week, i stopped into a cafe for morning coffee (Good Ambler). I took one look at this item in their pastry shelf and was sold on the shiny, caramelized top. Now I yearn to recreate it! Thanks for this video.