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Normandy
A flat, oval brioche, rich with butter and cream, the fallue was "something of a poor man's cake" for Norman bakers before becoming the table companion to teurgoule.
Pastry or bakery speciality from Normandy.
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The fallue is one of the traditional specialities of Normandie: a dessert attested across much of the region, particularly in the Bessin, the Saint-Lois and the Coutançais. Its name, says the magazine Patrimoine Normand, "denotes its ancient character": falue or fallue is thought to come from falle, the word for the stomach, itself derived from the Scandinavian falur, a "tube" in Old Norse, the language of the Vikings.
It is an old Norman recipe, close to gâche vendéenne. Claude Langlois, the grand master of the Houlgate competition, recounts its modest origins: "At the time, it was something of a poor man's cake." Bakers were not always paid in cash; people brought them whatever was available, cream, butter, and with that they made a brioche, by hand, without machines.
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Before the introduction of the galette des rois, the fallue was also served for Epiphany, and an old rhyme from days gone by sings of its sharing: "Now the fallue is cut, / We must see who is King".
Today, it is most often found alongside teurgoule: the fallue generally accompanies this Norman rice pudding, and their combination is considered "judicious".
The Normandie Cabourg Pays d'Auge tourist office says much the same, presenting the fallue as that which "often accompanies" teurgoule.
Yet not all the region knew this pairing. In the Nord-Cotentin, people eat brioche, like that of Le Vast, and rice pudding instead of fallue and teurgoule.
In Houlgate, the Confrérie des Gastronomes de la Teurgoule et de la Fallue de Normandie aims to promote the gastronomy, the craftsmanship and the town through teurgoule and fallue, and organises a competition for the best teurgoules and fallues.
In October 2024, the salle des fêtes in Houlgate hosted the 26th fallue competition. The competition, open to all — amateurs, professionals, apprentices, restaurant chefs, young talents —, attracts around twenty fallues each year.
In the same town, the bakery L'Épi d'Or is reviving this speciality: its baker, Vincent Margueray, is presented as a master artisan baker, and his recipe was distinguished with the "Fallue d'Or" award.
Appearance
A flat, oval-shaped brioche, with an ear-of-wheat pattern.
Taste
Lightly sweet, made with butter, eggs, and milk or crème fraîche.
Texture
A soft, unctuous crumb, light in colour.
in the Avranches area, at Genêts, a long, narrow brioche divided into ribs, which the buyer had cut into as many ribs as they wished, sold at two sous a piece; elsewhere, it was called "brioche coulante" (Jean Seguin, 1934).
in the Orne area, a round cake hollow in the centre, made in the countryside with fine flour, eggs and a little butter, which is also known as fouace (Jean Seguin, 1934).
The dough is well worked, and must be "soft".
It rises at room temperature.
Once risen, the dough is knocked back and divided into two balls, each placed in a baking dish.
Both dishes rise again before going into the oven.
In a hot oven (thermostat 7), for around 30 minutes.
Everyone has their own method: another version, reported on the occasion of the Houlgate competition, kneads the dough slowly and leaves it in the cold for 12 hours; it is shaped the following day, left to rise, then baked.
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The fallue is generally served with teurgoule. Light, it "is easy to eat": reason enough to bring it back to the table for Epiphany, just as before the introduction of the galette.
In Houlgate, another competition crowns rice puddings and fallue-based creations.
The fallue has its own brotherhood, the Confrérie des Gastronomes de la Teurgoule et de la Fallue de Normandie, based in Houlgate (Calvados), which organises a competition for the best teurgoules and fallues.
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