Kouign-amann (kouignoù-amann) is a Breton cake, described in the New York Times as "the fattiest pastry in all of Europe." The name comes from the Breton language words for cake (kouign) and butter (amann). It is a round multi-layered cake, originally made with bread dough (nowadays sometimes viennoiserie dough), containing layers of butter and sugar folded in, similar in fashion to puff pastry albeit with fewer layers. The cake is slowly baked until the butter puffs up the dough (resulting in its layered structure) and the sugar caramelizes. The effect is similar to a muffin-shaped, caramelized croissant.
