Galette des Rois for the Epiphany - Tradition and Recipe

Galette des Rois - 2013

The "Galette des Rois" is a traditional cake made to celebrate the Epiphany and eaten the entire month of January. The galette is made out of a flaky crust with a sweet almond filling. Inside the galette is hidden a "fève" which is a little piece of ceramic. Along with the galette comes a crown for the person who will get the slice of the galette with the "fève". 

View on the filling

The galette des rois is serve in a specific way and here is how it is served in the North of France. The host cuts the galette for the guests and a child hidden underneath the table calls the name of one of the guests to assign the slice that the host is ready to give. The person who gets the "fève" will be given a crown and will be the called the king or the queen. This same person will now have to host a gathering with friends and or family to eat a galette des rois.

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Ingredients:
2 pie crusts (flaky crust)
100 g butter (room temperature)
100 g sugar
125 g almond meal/flour
1 spoon (soup) of Rum
2 eggs (1 whole and 1 yolk)
1 spoon (soup) of cold water

Parchment paper

The filling is ready!

Directions:

     Step 1 - The Filling 

Cream the butter with the sugar. Add 1 egg and stir. Fold the almond flour and keep stirring until you have a homogeneous batter. Pour the rum and mix. Set a side.



     Step 2 -  Assembling the Galette

1. Unroll your first pie crust. On a cooking pan (wider than your dough), lay down a piece of parchment and place your unfolded pie crust.

Spreading the filling on the crust

2. Pour the filling in the middle of the dough, leaving 1 inch free all around the edge. If you wish to put a "fève", place is now closer to edge of the filling.

3. Brush around the edge with the egg yolk/water mixture (stir well the yolk and water). keep the mixture for later use.

4. Apply the second dough on top of the dough/filling. Make sure that both dough are on the top of each other and gently press around the edge.

The galette is ready to go in the oven!

5. Brush all over the pie with your yolk/water mixture.

6. With a sharp knife trace some lines across the pie to make diamond shapes or the design of your choice.

Close up at the rhombus design

7. Make a hole in each rhombus.


8. Bake at 400 degree Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes or until the top of the galette is golden brown.

9. Let it cool down before serving it lukewarm. It was be serve warm or cold as well.


Tip: If you do not have a "fève", you can use a whole almond as a substitute.

What do I think about this recipe?

It is a good recipe but it does not taste like the galette from home. Here are few remarks that I would take into consideration for next time:
- Get some good quality flaky pie crust or make the dough from scratch. I used the Pillsbury pie crust and was disappointing by the results. I did not get a full lightness, fluffiness and airiness that I was looking for. It was too flat.
- I left the edge of the galette flat with no design or folding of the edges (up or down). It looks a bit too flat too me. It definitively need more definition to provide some volume. I will fold the edges for next time.
- The texture of the filling was nice and smooth.
- The taste is there but it will need enhance by adding some almond flavor, more Rum, and or toasting the almond meal/flour. I will have to do a trial and error for next year.

See you next year for an update of this recipe.

 Enjoy, Laetitia