Pastry Fit for Kings Galette des Rois
©David Scott Allen Cakes & Cookies · Christmas & Holiday · David Scott Allen · Provencal Recipes · TasteWe love New Orleans, but certainly had to agree when David describes the NOLA Kings Cake as “A perfectly nice yeast bread hopped up on sugar and decorated by a kindergarten Jackson Pollock.” In his Cocoa & Lavender post, David walks the reader through the process of preparing an Epiphany galette (cake), a dessert served during the Christmas period ending on January 6th (Epiphany). According to David, the New Orleans version and the French version have little in common, except for the feve.
Galette des Rois
A classic Christmas cake made from puff pastry, filled with frangipane and a small treasure or feve hidden inside.
Ingredients
Galette de Rois
- 1 pound all-butter puff pastry recipe follows
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 1/2 cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 4 tbsp butter softened
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/8 tsp lemon extract
- 1 dried fava bean (fève), ceramic or glass toy doll, etc.
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp milk
Quick Puff Pastry
- 2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cake flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pound unsalted butter cold, cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup ice water
Instructions
Preparing the Galette de Rois
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Combine the almonds, sugar, butter, whole egg, and extracts in the food processor. This is the frangipane; it should be the consistency of a thick paste.
- Divide the pastry into two pieces.
- Roll out each piece of pastry and cut into a circle about 10 inches wide and 1/8-inch thick (use a plate or cake pan as your template, being careful not to press down on the dough.
- Place both circles of dough on parchment and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Put one circle of pastry (and its parchment) on baking tray and spread the frangipane evenly, leaving a 3/4-inch border.
- Press the trinket into the paste and cover with frangipane.
- Using a pastry brush, “paint” the 3/4-inch border with water.
- Place the second sheet on top and press the two pieces together around the edge, sealing completely as you go, then crimp the edges decoratively as you would a pie. (It is very important to seal the pastry well before crimping, otherwise the filling will ooze out.)
- Mix the egg yolk with the milk and brush the entire top of the galette with this mixture, being careful that it stays on top and doesn’t touch any of the sides. (It might keep the sides from puffing up.)
- Using a very sharp knife, decorate the top of the galette with patterns of slashes, being careful not to go all the way through to the frangipane.
- Bake on bottom rack for about 30 minutes, but keep an eye on it. It should be golden with tinges of brown. Serve warm.
Preparing the Puff Pastry
- Put flours and salt in the bowl of the food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse a few times to mix.
- Scatter butter on top of flour, and using on/off button, pulse until butter is the size of lima beans, no smaller than peas.
- Add almost all of the ice water and 12-15 times.
- If it’s too dry add the rest of the water and pulse until the dough almost comes together. Don´t let it form a ball of dough; don't over process.
- Dump out the dough onto a generously floured work surface and pat it into an 8-inch square.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle, about 8-inches by 15- to 18-inches. (This will look like an absolute mess in the beginning! Don't worry - it will come together!)
- Flour the dough and rolling pin as needed to prevent sticking.
- Make the first turn: with the aid of a dough scraper, lift one third of the dough, and flip it down onto the middle third.
- Do the same starting from the bottom with the remaining third of dough. (People describe this as a business letter fold.)
- Turn the dough a quarter turn clockwise, so that the short side is parallel to the working surface and the long side with the opening is on your right side.
- Repeat the rolling into a rectangle, the folding in three and turn to the right another three times for a total of four times.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Repeat the rolling, folding, and turning of the dough two more times, for a total will be six turns.
- The pastry needs to be refrigerated for at least 1 more hour before using it.
- Makes 2 pounds.
Notes
Make the puff pastry in advance as it needs to be refrigerated and folded - this is the secret behind the flaky pastry.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Legal
All rights reserved. Perfectly Provence articles and other content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten (including translations into other languages) or redistributed without written permission. For usage information, please contact us.
Syndication InformationAffiliate Information
As an Amazon Associate, this website earns from qualifying purchases. Some recipes, posts and pages may have affiliate links. If you purchase via these links, we receive a small commission that does not impact your price. Thank you in advance for supporting our work to maintain Perfectly Provence.
Previous Post
Provencal Christmas Menus by Cocoa and LavenderRelated Provence Articles
Sweet Fougasse Recipe from Aigues Mortes, France
November 1, 2021
This fougasse recipe comes from the old fortified city of Aigues-Mortes in the Gard, a beautiful Southern France area. Often reserved for the holidays, enjoy this sweet, chewy bread all year-round. Serve fougasse with other pastries or enjoy it on its own for a satisfying treat! Book a cooking class, online or in-person, to discover …
How to make galette des rois, traditional Epiphany cake
January 8, 2016
January is the month of la galette in France. La galette des rois, or King’s Cake, is a flaky buttery pastry filled with almond paste. It is traditionally eaten at Epiphany on the 6th of January, but it’s also eaten throughout the month at social gatherings, schools, offices, New Year ceremonies, and so on. As …
Just Try to Resist this Lemon Meringue Tart Recipe
October 18, 2021
I love this tart, it might seem daunting, but I’ve broken it down into three parts, so open a bottle of rosé and have fun with it. You’ll be really happy with the results, I promise! I’ve made the pastry, but feel free to buy it. There are some amazing ready-to-use products out there. If …
Pork and Chicken Liver Pâte Tarts a Starter Course
November 9, 2018
Nimes-based chef Anne Challier adapts her recipe for pâte with pork and chicken liver pâte (pâté fois de volaille) to create a savoury pastry tart. Here, is the recipe for the meat filling. Use a muffin pan as your shape, make the pastry dough recipe…
2 Comments
I just made one this past weekend and was reminded how good it is! And, I got the fève, so the party is on me next year!
It sounds like 2022 will be a lucky year!