Galette des Rois

You may be wondering why I chose puff pastry as my technique for January, after all, it isn’t the easiest place to start. Well there was one very good reason: Galette des Rois.

This traditional pastry is eaten for the Epiphany (around the 6^th January) and you will see them in French patisseries throughout January. I only discovered these when I lived in France, as although I had visited often before, it was always during the summer months.

The first time I tried one I bought just one rather large slice from my favourite patisserie, and was rather surprised when I bit into a small ceramic figure! I was slightly concerned as to what I had found until I googled galette des rois and discovered that this was the Fève, which is hidden in every galette. If you are buying a whole galette you will also receive a cardboard crown. This is given to the person who finds the fève in their slice, and they become King for the day (galette des rois means King cake), so I was really rather lucky to find one in my slice.



The galettes are made of crème d’amande (almond paste) sandwiched between two layers of puff pastry which are decorated on top with patterns scored into the dough with a sharp knife. The combination of just these few ingredients goes to make something so much more delicious than the sum of its parts. I often had a slice of this in place of dinner during the January I was living in France!

Since being back in the UK I have made my own galettes with shop bought puff pastry, which is fine but you do miss out on all the buttery flavour of homemade or good French puff pastry, and that is important in a recipe which combines such simple flavours like this. As I now really enjoy making puff pastry, I definitely won’t be going back to the shop bought pastry any time soon, but you could make it with the all-butter puff pastry blocks that they sell in supermarkets now if making your own pastry doesn’t appeal.

Things I have learnt from making galette des rois:

Make sure you press down the edges of the pastry very well once you have put on the top layer. If it is not properly sealed the crème d’amande will leak out when it’s in the oven.

The main problem I have had in making these is remembering to put in the fève. It’s surprisingly easy to forget, especially if you are trying to take photographs at the same time!

Place the fève near the edge of the galette so that it’s less likely to get caught by the knife when the galette is being sliced, otherwise the person slicing it will have an unfair advantage in getting to be King for the day!

The pastry was still not entirely cooked on the bottom after 30 minutes, so next time I will bake it until it’s nice and brown on top, then put a piece of foil over it and bake for a further ten minutes to ensure the bottom is done too.

 

Galette des Rois: makes 1 large galette for 6-8 people
(Adapted from this recipe on the Chocolate and Zucchini blog)

500g puff pastry

for the crème d’amande:
125g butter, softened
125g sugar
125g ground almonds
10g cornflour
a pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon orange flower or rum (or another liquor of choice)

for the egg wash:
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk

for the sugar glaze:
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon water

• Put the ingredients for the crème d’amande into a large mixing bowl and beat until combined
• Place the bowl in the fridge to chill for 1 hour or overnight
• Preheat the oven to 200°C
• Cut the puff pastry in half and roll out each half to a slightly larger circle than the size of the dinner plate you are using as a template (around 25-30cm across is ideal)
• Cut out one circle of pastry to the same size as the plate and then cut the second one larger by cutting 3mm away for the edge of the plate all the way around
• Save any scraps by placing them on top of each other to keep the layers intact. You can then use them to make palmiers (recipe to follow shortly!). Wrap them in cling film and put back in the fridge
• Place the smaller of the two circles onto a lined baking tray
• Beat the egg and milk together for the egg wash, the brush it on in a 2cm line around the edge of the circle with a pastry brush
• Spread the crème d’amande into the middle of the pastry circle, up to the line of egg wash

• REMEMBER TO PUT THE FEVE IN AT THIS POINT! (this shouty reminder is mostly for my benefit as I always forget!)
• Place the larger pastry carefully over the top, making sure it is central and there are no air bubbles trapped beneath it

• Press down on the egg-washed edges of the pastry to seal
• Now you can score a pattern in with the tip of a sharp knife. You can do any pattern but the traditional ones are usually leaf patterns as shown here, swirls like Clothilde’s or chevrons like this one
• To make the scalloped edge on the galette, hold the knife downwards and, using the blunt side of the knife tip, push the pastry inwards at intervals around the edge
• Brush the top of the galette with the egg wash, avoiding getting any on the edges, or the layers will be sealed together and it will not rise fully
• Make small air holes in the top of the galette with a knife to allow any air bubbles to escape

• Place the galette in the oven and bake for around 30 minutes
• Once it is a deep golden brown, cover loosely with foil and continue to bake for a further 10 minutes to ensure the bottom of the pastry is done
• Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack
• Once cooled, make the sugar glaze by putting the sugar and water in a saucepan and heating until it is just beginning to boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly
• Brush the glaze over the surface of the galette
• Serve the galette the day that its made, as the pastry will lose it’s crispness after that time