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Burgundy
In Paray-le-Monial, the cherries in cacou are never stoned — it is this little stubborn streak, handed down from generation to generation, that gives this Burgundian spring cake all its flavour.
Pastry or bakery speciality from Burgundy.
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Cacou owes its existence to the cherry trees and wild cherry trees that grow in abundance in this south-western part of the Charolais, around Paray-le-Monial: trees that yield a small black cherry, tart and astringent, quite different from dessert varieties. It was from this humble fruit that, several centuries ago, this flat, round cake was born, becoming the culinary emblem of the town. Its curious name has long intrigued visitors passing through the Brionnais, where Paray-le-Monial is today considered the finest place to taste it.
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The origin of the name is told as a legend, the details of which vary from one version to another. In the most detailed account, it dates back to the 14th century: the plague was then ravaging the land, and in Paray-le-Monial only a certain Lucas Coup and his wife la Glaudine escaped. Their son Jean-Marie invented a cherry cake recipe to feed the survivors, and the dessert took the name "Cacou" in tribute to this family. Another, more sober version places the episode in the 11th century and tells of a famine rather than an epidemic, naming no one. A third relates it more broadly to the Middle Ages and speaks of "a sieur Coup" who supposedly saved the inhabitants from starvation thanks to this cake — the three versions agree on the essential point: an ancestor named "Coup" and a famine averted.
Since 1972, the Confrérie des Francs-Cacous de Paray-le-Monial has watched over this tradition and kept it alive: each year, during the chapter held on the second weekend after Pentecost, its members parade through the streets of the town in ceremonial dress. To this day, the brotherhood still passes down the recipe for cacou, just as it has always been prepared. The cake is now listed in the inventaire du patrimoine culinaire français, in the section devoted to Bourgogne, and there is even a liqueur de cacou, a more confidential variation of the original dessert.
Appearance
Flat, circular cake with a surface turned golden by baking.
Taste
Tart, slightly bitter black cherries, whose intact stone allows the fruit's full aroma to infuse during baking — the hallmark of cacou.
Texture
Close to that of a clafoutis.
butter and flour a round tin approximately 23 to 24 cm in diameter, tapping out any excess flour.
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Cacou can be enjoyed warm or cold, plain or served with a scoop of ice cream, as a dessert at the end of a meal or for an afternoon snack. In the nearby Mâconnais, it is readily paired with a Viré-Clessé, a dry white wine whose freshness responds well to the acidity of the small black cherries.
No official quality mark (PDO (AOP), AOC, PGI (IGP), TSG (STG), Label Rouge or Organic) protects cacou. Its local renown is sustained by its listing in the inventaire du patrimoine culinaire français, in the Bourgogne region, and by the Confrérie des Francs-Cacous de Paray-le-Monial, established in 1972, which keeps the tradition alive and parades each year during its chapter.
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