The galette des Rois is a patisserie that is traditionally eaten in France to celebrate the Epiphany, which according to the Christian Bible falls 12 days after Christmas, when the Three Wise Men (or Kings, rois = kings) visited the infant Jesus and when St. John the Baptist christened him.
Ingredients for the frangipane (almond filling):
- 100 grams of powdered almonds
- 100 grams of fine brown sugar
- 100 grams of unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 small glass of white rum
- Vanilla extract
- 500 grams of puff pastry (shop bought or homemade)
For the finishing:
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 table spoons of water
Preparation:
- Pre-heat oven for 15 minutes at 230c
- Mix ingredients 1-6 until you obtain a smooth mix that is not too runny
- Put it aside
- Roll out your puff pastry, divide it in 2 equal circles (diameter: the size of a medium plate – height: 1 cm)
- Place the frangipane mix in the middle of one of the 2 circles.
- Place the second circle on top
- Close the 2 circles firmly by pinching the borders together. This is an important stage, as the frangipane should not leak through the edges.
- Draw some diagonal lines to create diamond shapes (see picture)
- Brush on the yolk/water mix
- Make some tiny holes with a fork on top (this is to let air come out of the pastry and to prevent it from rising too much)
- Put it in the oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until brown and shiny.
Note:
If you don’t like frangipane, you can replace it with apple compote, for example. Just make sure it is not too runny.
Traditionally, we add a fève, a little porcelain trinket the size of a kidney bean, inside the galette and whoever finds in their slice becomes the queen or king of the day. So this step is optional, as it won’t add any flavour to the galette, but it will definitely add a bit of fun and suspense until someone finds the fève and shouts “Vive la Reine!” (long live the Queen) or “Vive le Roi” (long live the King)’!!!!