I just hate being mis-quoted - and thus misunderstood- don't you? I am sure Marie Antoinette would feel the same way, especially if she knew of this saying, that has been purported to be hers. What she really said [if she even said this at all] upon hearing her adoring subjects were rioting, because they were without bread, was: ("Qu'ils mangent de la brioche") which literally means: They eat brioche. Those who know a little culinary French know that "cake" in French is gateau, not brioche. Brioche is really a yeast bread enriched with butter, eggs, and sugar. Therefore, I would contend that brioche is not what we would consider to be a modern "cake." In her day, brioche wasn't even made in a brioche pan, it would have looked like any other mounded bread loaf. So this quote doesn't seem as outrageous now, after knowing what a brioche is as opposed to a gateau - or what we now know as "cake", does it?
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