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• gâteau
  gâteau

  noun

  a cake, especially a very light sponge cake with a rich icing or filling.
• gateau
  gateau

  noun

  any of various elaborate cakes, usually layered with cream and richly decorated

gâteau

American  

[ga-toh, gah-, gah-toh] / gæˈtoʊ, gɑ-, gɑˈtoʊ /

noun

French Cooking.

gâteaux plural

1. a cake, especially a very light sponge cake with a rich icing or filling.

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gateau British  

/ ˈɡætəʊ /

noun

1. any of various elaborate cakes, usually layered with cream and richly decorated

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Etymology

Origin of gâteau

1835–45; < French; Old French gastel (compare Middle English wastel < Old North French ) < Frankish *wastil, perhaps akin to Old English, Old Saxon wist food, nourishment

Example Sentences

For dessert, the VIPs were served a sweet beehive-shaped chocolate gâteau with a vanilla bean crémeux custard.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

Her most popular items include wondrously fluffy souffle cheesecake, minimally sweet strawberry cake and a tender single-layer matcha gâteau.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 25, 2023

Also, gâteau de crêpes, which is an insanely challenging dish.

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2022

When to go: There’s no bad time to visit, though some swear that spring takes the gâteau.

From Washington Post • Feb. 13, 2020

Nor were the good folks of those days without their simnels, cracknels, and other sorts of cakes for the table, among which in the wastel we recognise the equivalent of the modern French gâteau.

From Old Cookery Books and Ancient Cuisine by Hazlitt, William Carew