Classic French

Galette des Rois

Name: Galette des Rois
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 400g Puff pastry, all butter; 1 Egg yolk, organic or free range, beaten for glazing; 75g Butter, unsalted, at room temperature; 75g Sugar, icing; 75g Ground almonds; 1 Whole egg, organic or free range; 1 Egg yolk, organic or free range; 1tbsp Dark rum or Cognac; 1 Egg, organic or free range; 1 Egg yolk, organic or free range; 1 tbsp Single cream

Will you be King or Queen for a day?

Prep 20 minsCook 45 minsServes 4

Every child in France waits impatiently for Epiphany (January 6th) for the delicious spectacle of the Galette des Rois. Supposedly, it's a traditional dessert created to honour the three kings who travelled thousands of miles to visit the baby Jesus in Bethlehem… but this story is a load of old baloney! It was really created in more modern times by an enterprising French pâtissier who saw the chance to make a quick profit! Nevertheless, it is a marvellous party dessert as traditionally two little figurines or 'fèves' are hidden in the almond cream; whoever finds one of them will become the King or Queen for the day, and everyone else must obey their every whim! Of course, one must mind their teeth...

Ingredients

For the puff pastry:

400gPuff pastry, all butter
1Egg yolk, organic or free range, beaten for glazing

For the almond cream:

75gButter, unsalted, at room temperature
75gSugar, icing
75gGround almonds
1Whole egg, organic or free range
1Egg yolk, organic or free range
1tbspDark rum or Cognac

For the glaze

1Egg, organic or free range
1Egg yolk, organic or free range
1 tbspSingle cream

Method

1
Rolling out the circles of pastry: Lightly flour your work surface then, with a rolling pin, roll out the puff pastry into two sheets of pastry – 35cm x 22.
5cm, cut a 20cm circle for the base from one sheet and a 22cm circle for the top out of the other sheet; refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour to firm up the pastry and prevent any retraction whilst cooking.
2
Making the almond cream: In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients together and mix to a smooth texture; reserve in the fridge.
3
Making the Galette: Place one disc of pastry on a baking sheet. Spoon the almond cream into the centre, then, with a palette knife, spread the cream into an even circle leaving a 2cm edge around.
Brush the egg yolk glaze around the 2cm edge and carefully drape the other circle of pastry neatly on top. Press gently on the edge to seal the pastry.
With the back of a knife, score the outside edge of the pastry all around. This will completely seal the two rounds of pastry and also give an attractive presentation.
4
Making the Galette cont...
Chill or deep freeze the galette for 1 hour to firm up the pastry, and with a sharp knife, trim the edge of the galette to an even circle so that it rises evenly.
5
Scoring the Galette and egg washing: Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Brush the Galette with the egg yolk glaze.
With the side of a fork or back of a knife, start from the centre of the Galette and score a spiral right up to the edge of the pastry.
Repeat this to achieve an attractive design.
6
Cooking the Galette: Cook in the preheated oven at 180°C for 45 minutes.
Leave it to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Chef's Tips

“
"If you're not confident about being able to score in a spiral, you could just simply criss cross."

Cooking is always an expression of care and generosity. Enjoy this dish.

Bon appétit!