Galette des Rois

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Light, buttery, golden flaky pastry encasing a moist, yet light, orange scented frangipane loaded with almonds and a hint of dark rum. Galette des Rois, or King Cake, is a traditional French pastry eaten to celebrate the Epiphany.

What is the Epiphany?

The Epiphany, also known as ‘Three Kings’ Day,’ is a Christian feast day celebrated on 6th January. It celebrates the day the ‘Three Kings’ or the ‘Wise Men’ found the baby Jesus after his birth. They famously followed a bright star to the stable where he was born in Bethlehem.

What tradition is associated with this galette?

This dessert is beloved by adults and children alike. Tradition has it that a surprise is baked in the frangipane. Classically this has been a fève (bean), a small trinket, a whole almond or even a coin. Whoever finds the fève in their slice of galette becomes ‘king’ or ‘queen’ for the day. Some bakeries in France even include a gilded paper crown with the sale of the cake.

How to make Galette des Rois

Collect all your ingredients together:

Pastry –

• shop bought pre-rolled all-butter puff pastry (See here if you would like to make your own puff pastry.)
• egg yolk
• milk

Frangipane –

• unsalted butter, at room temperature
• caster sugar
• egg
• egg yolk
• ground almonds/almond meal
• plain/all-purpose flour
• fine salt
• dark rum
• almond extract
• grated orange zest. Most recipes which include orange zest use half the amount that I do; I prefer a more pronounced orange flavour.

How to make this fabulous pie for Epiphany:

1. Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
2. Pastry – unroll one box of puff pastry and leave on the baking parchment. Use a stencil (I use the base of a cake tin) to cut out a 23cm circle. This will be the base of the galette. Transfer to a baking tray, on the baking parchment.
3. Unroll the second box of pastry, also leaving it on the parchment.. Sprinkle with flour and roll the pastry so it is large enough to cut out a 29cm circle. This will be the top of the galette.
4. Using the baking parchment to move the pastry, sit it on top of the pastry base, cover with cling film and place in the fridge while you make the frangipane.
5. (NB Do not throw the scraps of pastry away. Use them to make a Pandowdy. Pandowdy is a traditional American dessert thought to go back to German settlers on the north east coast of the US. It has a delicious layer of luscious, sweet fruit topped with crispy pastry. It is like a cross between a fruit crumble and a fruit pie.)
6. Frangipane – it is important that the butter is at room temperature and soft enough to beat. If it is a little hard, beat it with a whisk before adding the other ingredients. If it is already quite soft, you do not need to do this. For information on softening butter, see here.
7. Add the remaining frangipane ingredients, apart from the orange rind, to the bowl and beat with an electric whisk for about 1 minute, or until combined. Do not over-beat – just mix until combined.
8. Finely grate over the orange zest and fold into the frangipane.
9. Make the pie – beat the egg yolk and milk.
10. Take the pastry out of the fridge and remove the top layer. Spread the frangipane on the base, leaving a 2 cm rim clear of frangipane. Brush the rim with egg wash.
11. Cover with the pastry top smoothing out any air from under the surface. Press down on the edge and trim the pastry to neaten.
12. Use a knife or your fingers to scallop the edge and seal the pastry together. Cover and place in the freezer for 30 minutes or in the fridge for an hour.
13. 10 minutes before you take it out of the fridge/freezer, place a large baking sheet in the centre of the oven to heat up and preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 (fan 180°C).
14. Take the galette out of the fridge/freezer and use the back of a knife to score the pastry surface in a decorative manner. Make a small hole in the centre of the top of the pastry. Brush the surface with egg wash.
15. Place in the oven on the hot baking tray (this will help cook the base of the galette) and cook until the pasty is puffed and golden brown. Around 45 – 55 minutes.
16. Serve warm or at room temperature, as is or with some fresh cream or crème fraîche.

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Made this recipe?

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