Galettes des Rois

The galette des rois, or "king cake," is a French recipe associated with the celebration of Epiphany (Twelfth Night). Traditionally, the galette des rois has a fève (bean) hidden inside. The person who finds the fève in their slice of cake is considered the king or queen for the day and is often given a paper crown to wear.
Originally, it was a real bean inside the tart, but today the fève is a tiny porcelain figurine - but the same word meaning "bean" is still used. Fèves are very collectable in France but not easily available here so in our version of the recipe we will go back to using a real bean.
The tradition of hiding a bean or a small trinket in a cake dates back to Roman times and the tradition continues in Britain with the hiding of a coin in the Christmas Pudding.
This is the French tradition but other countries have epiphany cakes with a hidden figure inside. In Italy it is "La Befana."; the Spanish have "Rosca de Reyes" and "Bolo Rei" in Portugal.
This recipe in France is often made on a flat baking tray. My version of the recipe uses a flan/tart tin so that you are certain to have a galette that is holding together and in good shape.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Servings 8 servings
Calories 507 kcal

Equipment

  • flan/tart dish about 24cm/9½" preferably non-stick with removable bottom; or if not removable, serve directly from the flan dish
  • large plate as a cutting guide for dough circle
  • sharp knife or lame
  • Rolling Pin
  • mixing bowl
  • sieve
  • Spatula
  • a gold party crown optional - if you have one!

Ingredients
  

  • 2 sheets ready-rolled puff pastry
  • 1 bean (fresh or frozen) optional

Frangipane

  • 75 g unsalted butter at room temperature or softened
  • 100 g icing sugar sieve or whiz up in food processor
  • 140 g ground almond
  • 1 tsp almond essence
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg white the egg yolk is saved for the glaze in the next step

Glaze

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp water

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oven to 200ºC/fan 180ºC/gas 6. Or if your puff pastry packet says differently then use the temperatures given there

Making the frangipane

  • Sieve the icing sugar into the mixing bowl. Add the almond powder, sugar, eggs and extra egg white, softened butter and the almond essence. (If you've used your food processor to ensure the icing sugar is fine then you can carry on mixing all the ingredients in there.)

Preparing the "galette"

  • Find a plate about the same width as the puff pastry and cut around it with a sharp knife. If your plate is slightly too small, just use it as a guide and cut wider. It does not have to be perfect.
  • Gently roll the pastry dough to expand equally all around. A couple of gentle rolls in each direction will be enough.
  • Cut the 2nd sheet of puff pastry in the same way - but do not roll it.
  • Place the first (larger) piece of puff pastry in the tart tin. It should come up along the sides all around the tin. Again, it does not have to be perfectly in line with the top. The pastry just has to be higher than the frangipane when it is filled.
  • Tip the frangipane in to the tart tin and spread evenly with a spatula. Push the bean inside the mixture to hide it.
  • Fold over the edges of the pastry all around. Brush the edges of the dough and then cover with the 2nd sheet of puff pastry, sealing the edges well right round
  • Make designs with a sharp knife (or lame). A curved spoke design is very common

Glaze and bake

  • Mix the egg yolk with 1 tsp water and brush over the top of the pastry
  • Bake for 20 to 30 min check the cooking regularly!
  • Allow to cool. before removing from the tin. Put the party crown on top, if you have one, to bring to the table. The crown is given the person who finds the bean and is king for the day.

Notes

In France, ready rolled puff pastry is usually circular - perfect for making tarts and flans. If your puff pastry sheets are rectangular, as they usually are in the UK, you will have some off-cuts. Do not throw these away! These can be used to make some tasty snacks
  • Mini savoury tarts. Cut the offcuts into small flat rectangles and top with with pesto, goats cheese or feta and sprinkled with pine nuts; or a 'pizza' topping of passata, mozzarella, olives and herbs. 
  • Cheese Twists: I use the leftover rounded pieces by flattening them together, brush with egg (leftover from assembling the galette) and sprinkle with grated parmesan; twist. Bake all your snacks together to save on fuel.
Nothing wasted!

Nutrition

Calories: 507kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 9gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 141mgPotassium: 49mgFiber: 3gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 297IUCalcium: 50mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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