What is the Carré de Salers?

Carré de Salers is not a silk scarf, nor is it a Salers cheese. It can be found and enjoyed in the Cantal region, not far from La Gazelle. As its name suggests, it's a thin square biscuit (8 cm square) made to an ancestral recipe created by the craftsmen of the town of Salers in the Cantal.

The secret recipe has been handed down from generation to generation. The famous pure butter pastry has a jagged edge and a different gilding depending on how it is baked.

It was invented in the XIXᵉ century, more precisely the name «Carré de Salers» was registered by the Delsol family of bakers in 1867 (trademark registered with the Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle). The Carré de Salers is also labelled a «Product of the Auvergne Volcanoes Regional Nature Park». According to tradition, its shape was inspired by the smuggled matches that were stuck together at the time or, for others, by the cobblestones of the town of Salers.

Although the Carré de Salers is also available in a variety of recipes from biscuit makers in the Salers area, the ingredients are simple and remain the same: wheat flour, sugar, butter, eggs, salt and sometimes vanilla flavouring. This tasty biscuit has become a must-try and one of the emblems of the town of Salers.

The carré de Salers can be eaten on its own or as a side dish, with ice cream, whipped cream, compotes, fruit, jam or, for tea and/or coffee lovers, it can be dipped in a cup. This tasty Cantal speciality is easy to take away and keep (it's sold in bags, metal tins or cardboard boxes). You can give it as a gift or keep the nostalgia of the Cantal in your kitchen for your own enjoyment.

Some biscuit-makers make another typical Cantal speciality: tarte à la tome...

We'll talk about it in a future blog!

Recipe for Salers loin

Ingredients

450 g white flour
200 g caster sugar
2 packets vanilla sugar
250 g of butter
1 whole egg
1 pinch fine salt
1 egg yolk for gilding + 2 tbsp milk

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 160°.
In a large bowl, mix the soft butter with the sugars (white and vanilla) and salt. Add the whole egg. Sift the flour and gradually add to the mixture. Add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky. Form into a ball and cover with cling film.
Leave to stand in a cool place for at least 1 hour.
On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to about 0.2cm.
Using a square fluted cookie cutter (about 8cm square), cut out the shortbread biscuits from the pastry. Place the biscuits on a buttered baking tray.
To prepare the gilding, mix the egg yolk and milk.
Brush the Salers biscuits with the gilding.
Place the squares in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
Once the cakes are golden brown, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.