Traditional Galette des Rois - King Cake

by Feli Chic'Cuisine

Photo @Feli Chic'Cuisine

A Galette des Rois has a flakey, buttery puff pastry filled with rich, irresistibly creamy almond filling - frangipane. An impressive cake, but so simple to make. Serve the galette with tea or cafe to balance the cake's sweetness.

Galette des rois is a traditional French cake associated with Epiphany day. A religious day, which celebrates the visit of the three Kings, Melchior, Gaspar and Baltazar, who came to pay homage to the Baby Jesus.

January is the month of 𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙍𝙤𝙞𝙨. In France, the tradition is to share these Galette des Rois, after the New Year, on January 6th. The king cake in that it also features a small prize hidden inside the filling. I truly love the elegance of the traditional French Galette des Rois and how it can be a eye-catching dessert.

Usually, a small prize, called a fève is hidden inside the filling of the Galette. This is a small porcelain or plastic figures, but a home baker can use a dried fava bean instead. The lucky who finds the fève becomes the "king" or "queen" of the day and wears a paper crown.

@Feli Chic'Cuisine

Prep. Time: 20 min

Bake Time: 25 min

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

2 (400g) rolls ready-made puff pastry
40g flour
2 yolks

For the Frangipane

125g butter, room temperature
125g powdered (icing) sugar
125g ground almonds
2 eggs
2 tsp cornstarch
1 fava bean, optional
1 tbsp dark rum or cognac

Method

Prepare the cream - Frangipane

1. Beat together the butter and powdered (icing) sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the ground almonds, cornstarch, vanilla and cognac or dark rum. Blend to a smooth, creamy paste. Set aside.

Prepare the Galette

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a floured surface, roll out 2 sheets of puff pastry and cut into 2 (28 cm/11-inch) discs.

3. Place one disc on the prepared baking sheet. Brush some of the beaten yolk over the pastry. Spread an even layer of almond cream, leaving a 2 cm (1-inch) border around the edges. Place the fava bean - optional.

4. Cover with the second disc, pressing the edges to seal (you can use a fork). Place the galette in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Bake the Galette

5. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fun (400°F /6 gas mark).

6. Add a little milk in the remaining yolk, and brush the galette - this will create a golden crust. Using a sharp knife, make a decorative pattern into the top layer of pastry without cutting through to the almond filling.

7. Bake for 20-25 min until crisp and golden. Allow the Galette to cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Photo @Feli Chic'Cuisine

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer. - Albert Camus

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