With its squat shape and blackened top, it doesn’t look great, but it tastes rather good. The inside has a cake-like texture and is slightly sweet with a hint of sour cream. The crust is rather more controversial – some people enjoy eating it while others will not let a charred crumb past their lips.

The tourteau – a variation on torte meaning ‘pie’ but it’s actually considered a cake – is said to have got its blackened top when a 19th century housewife cooking her cake accidently burnt the top and subsequently discovered that the blackened crust kept the cake moist as well as fresher for longer.

Made with fresh goats’ cheese (but also sometimes cows’ milk cheese), egg, flour and sugar, the mixture is poured in a special mould which has been lined with a thin layer of pastry dough. The black crust comes from cooking it in a very hot oven at the start, before lowering the temperature.

It is eaten plain, either for breakfast or afternoon tea, as well as being served at the traditional wedding celebration, les vins d’honneur.