The galette des rois (which translates to ‘cake of kings’) is an early January tradition celebrating Epiphany that I grew up with. My parents would always make one on the first Sunday of the year. A fève (small ceramic figurine) is hidden inside before baking and whoever finds it becomes royalty for the rest of the day!
While the frangipane filling is fairly simple with almond flour as the main ingredient, it is delicious and not overly sweet, which makes you want to keep on eating it!
INGREDIENTS FOR GALETTE DES ROIS
- Pâte feuilletée: a flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough and butter. Check our some of our recipes using puff pastry like Bánh Patê sô (Vietnamese meat pastry) and Smoked salmon & Boursin puff pastry bites.
- Almond flour
- Sugar
- Butter
- Eggs
- Fève: a small ceramic figurine. You can find a LOT of options on the Internet, including the ones we bought on Etsy.
DIRECTIONS FOR GALETTE DES ROIS
- In a large bowl, add the almond flour, sugar, butter (cut in small pieces), and eggs.
- Mix with a spatula until well combined and smooth- this will take a few minutes since the butter must be broken down little by little.
- On a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, roll out your first sheet of puff pastry.
- Spread evenly the filling while leaving a 1-cm space on the edge.
- Place the ‘fève’ on top of the filling and gently press it down, at an equal distance from the center and the edge.
- Add a little bit of water all around the edge of the puff pastry (the 1-cm space that we left empty). This will help to seal the two sheets of puff pastry together.
- Cover with the second sheet of puff pastry and seal the edge by pressing with your fingertips or with a fork.
- Set aside in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Take the galette out of the fridge.
- Using the tip of a knife or a razor blade, create your design- see our picture for inspiration, or google it!
- Prepare the egg wash – egg yolk whisked with a little bit of water – and brush on the galette.
- Bake at 175°C/350°F for 30 min or until golden.
- Let the galette cool down to room temperature before serving. Bon appétit !
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The Galette des Rois is a famous French dessert, usually made by professional bakeries. What a chance to have the opportunity to do it at home with such a well detailed recipe. Thank you mmbonappetit!