Recipe: Galettes des Rois

A galette is a French flat, round, crusty cake or even a flatbread. It’s associated in the French-speaking world with the celebration of the Epiphany.

January 6th is the feast of the Epiphany that celebrates the biblical story of the arrival in Bethlehem of the Three Kings (or Three Magi or Three Wise Men in other traditions) to bring gifts to the baby Jesus.

I was introduced to this tradition when I lived in Paris. It’s traditional to eat this delicious pastry the evening before the 6th and wash it down with glasses of champagne!

The flaky pastry “cake” is filled with a mixture of almond paste and crème pâtissière, baked until puffy and golden, and topped off with a gilded paper crown. Inside the galette is a small figurine – a fève – and the person who finds that in their slice will wear the crown and become king or queen for the day.

In southern France, the cake is called le gâteau des rois and is a brioche ring studded with candied dried fruits. It also contains the fève.

Ingredients

The almond cream:

• 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 pinch grated nutmeg
• 1 cup almond meal
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

The pastry:

• 2 rolls Pepperidge Farm or Trader Joe’s puff pastry (1 lb.), thawed but chilled

Assemblage:

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten, for egg wash
• 1 tablespoon heavy (35%) cream
• 1 fève
• 1 paper crown

Method

To make the almond cream:

Using a handheld electric beater on high speed, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Your mixture may look curdled, but that’s okay.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the almond meal and salt until you have a smooth paste. It will be quite stiff.

Cover the almond mixture with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Prepare the pastry by rolling it out and cutting two circles (10 inches in diameter). Place them, separated and sandwiched by parchment paper, on a baking tray in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.

Assemble the galette by first whisking the egg and cream together to make an egg wash. Remove one pastry circle from the refrigerator, and place it on a baking tray. Peel off the top layer of parchment, leaving the bottom parchment in place.

Spread the almond cream at the center of the pastry circle, leaving a border of about 1 inch around the edge. Place the fève in the almond cream so that it’s completely covered. Spread the cream evenly over the pastry. Brush the edge of the pastry circle with the egg wash, making sure to keep the egg on the pastry and not dripping down the edges. If you let the egg wash drip, your puff pastry might not puff.

Remove the second pastry disk from the refrigerator, peel off the parchment, and carefully place it on top of the almond cream, lining up the edges of both pastry circles. Gently press the edges down on both the egg-washed border and the almond cream. Then use the tines of a fork to lightly press around the edges to seal the galette.

Use the back of a small sharp knife to score a pattern on top of the pastry. You can make a diamond pattern or a sun pattern (see photo). Do NOT cut through the pastry. Turn the galette and repeat until you have scored the entire top. Then brush the top with more egg wash.

Place the baking tray with the galette in a refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375˚F.

Remove the galette from the refrigerator, brush it one more time with the egg wash, and bake it for 35-40 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Place the galette on a wire rack and allow it to cool down before serving, topped with the paper crown!