The French tradition for Epiphany, and throughout January, is to bake the ‘King’s Cake’, or Galette des Rois. It is a round flaky puffed pastry filled with a frangipane or almond cream, inside which is hidden the fève, a little ceramic figurine. Whoever gets the fève in its slice, becomes King or Queen and gets to wear the crown!
I like to celebrate Epiphany by baking a galette every year and share this French tradition with our Finnish friends. Tirer les rois – or pinking the king – is always a good occasion to get together and children are so excited when biting their slice, often opening it up searching for the much coveted fève. Nowadays the fèves come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. A very good friend of mine has offered to his wife a fève everyday for the past years, hunting the most beautiful and rare ones from the internet. Her collection is huge, and this little double-decker purple bus in my galette today is a gift from her (merci Sylvie!) As a sidenote, if you have very small children, I recommend you use an almond instead of the fève.
Today I prepared almond cream to fill my galette, a lighter filling than the classic frangipane. The flaky puffed pastry is homemade. Preparing a classic puff pastry dough is a rather long and tedious process, but you can try my Quick & Easy Rough Pastry Dough recipe instead! It doesn’t require any complicated foldings and long waiting times, and it is ready in minutes!
Now, did you know that the President of France doesn’t get a fève in his galette at the Elysée Palace? That is because a President cannot become… a King!
- 2 gluten free puffed pastries (around 26 cm diameter)
- 200 g almond powder
- 110 g coconut sugar
- 90 g soft butter (lactose-free)
- 3 eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 3 tbsp honey for glazing
- Preheat the oven 200 degrees.
- To make the almond cream, combine in a bowl the soft butter with almond powder, coconut sugar and the 3 eggs until fully incorporated.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place one dough on it.
- Spread the almond filling over the center of the dough, leaving 2 cm exposed border.
- Place the fève in the almond filling.
- Brush water around the exposed perimeter of the dough. Place the other circle of dough on top and press down to seal the edges.
- Brush the top of the galette with the egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp of water. Place in refrigerator with 15 minutes then brush it again with the egg yolk mixture.
- With the back of a knife crimp the edges. Then draw patterns to decorate the top of the galette (I chose a leaf theme). Make a tiny hole in the center of the galette.
- Place in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Melt the honey in a small saucepan. Take the galette out of the oven and brush it with honey.
- Serve at room temperature.
Ta galette des rois est absolument magnifique, un vrai plaisir pour les yeux !!! J’ai hâte que tu sois en France pour pouvoir profiter de ta bonne cuisine et surtout de tes pâtisseries!