#23 - Tourteau fromager "cheese cake"

Technically this is not a cheese. But it has cheese in it, so it counts in my books.  

We saw these impressive looking baked goodies in the Challans market at a number of different stalls.  This was not like the dense (but delicious) texture of a baked New York style cheese cake, but had a very light, fluffy texture somewhere between cake and bread.  In fact, the tourteau fromager didn't even taste all that cheesy - so can only presume it contained fresh, high moisture cheese in the mixture.  Some of us thought it was a little bland, although it would be nice with jam.

The most interesting feature, the dark black exterior, imparted a slightly blackened and bitter taste but this was pleasant as it was only a thin layer.  We can only assume this blackening is achieved with a layer of sugar on the outside and a hot oven temperature.

Definitely one to try when you find an example.  

Tourteau fromager