I tried my first Galette des Rois when I was around 16 years old. To practice my French, I took part in a conversation class led by a French woman. The 1st meeting happened to be on January 6th. She brought a homemade Galette des Rois. As the youngest participant, I had the task of cutting this three kings cake and putting a piece on each plate. So I learned that this pastry is traditionally served at Epiphany. The specialty of this cake is that a “Fève” (a small figure made of porcelain) is hidden in the filling. Whoever finds this Fève in her/his piece of cake is called King for the day. That’s why a paper crown is part of this leafy tart.

It consists of puff pastry and is filled with a mixture of crème patissière (a type of vanilla pudding) and crème d’amande. Both creams are married as "Crème Frangipane". I only used vanilla as a flavor for my filling because I love vanilla. Rum, bitter almond oil, orange blossom water or orange peel are also conceivable as variations. Instead of finely ground almonds, you can also use other nuts such as hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews or pistachios. There are also versions in which finely sliced ​​apple slices are placed on top of the crème frangipane. It'll definitely taste good with pears too.

As an alternative to puff pastry, there are also recipes with brioche dough. The Galette des Rois is particularly delicious when it is caramelized with powdered sugar under the grill at the end of the baking time. This gives it a nice, shiny crust on the outside that meets the juicy filling. This cake is quite rich and perfect for winter.

In this video you can see how the galette is prepared.

GALETTE DES ROIS

Approx. 22 cm diameter
2 rolls of puff pastry, approx. 270 g each

Crème d'amande
75 g soft butter (unsalted)
45 g powdered sugar (made from raw cane sugar)
75 g peeled and ground almonds
1 egg

Crème pâtissière
125 g milk (I used unsweetened cashew milk)
½ teaspoon ground bourbon vanilla or the pulp of 1 vanilla pod
2 egg yolks
20 g powdered sugar ( from raw cane sugar)
15 g corn starch

To finish
1 egg yolk for brushing
1 teaspoon powdered sugar (made from raw cane sugar) for caramelizing

Preparation
For the crème pâtissière, mix the egg yolks, powdered sugar, vanilla and corn starch in a small bowl. Bring the milk to the boil, then slowly pour into the egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly. Put everything back into the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Put the crème pâtissière on cling film and wrap it up. Then let it cool down in the refrigerator.

For the crème d’amande, mix the butter with the powdered sugar. Add the almonds and keep stirring. Then stir the egg into the mixture. For the crème frangipane, stir the cooled crème pâtissière with a small whisk until creamy and mix into the crème d’amande. Fill the frangipane into a piping bag with a perforated nozzle and keep it ready. Spread out the puff pastry. Cut out two 24 cm circles. Place the bottom circle on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Mix the egg yolks with a teaspoon of water and brush the edge of the lower circle of dough with the egg wash. Do not go all the way to the very edge.Sprinkle the frangipane in the middle of the lower puff pastry circle. Leave about 4 cm from the edge. Use a small palette to spread higher towards the middle. Hide the small porcelain figure. Cover with the second puff pastry circle and press down the edges a little.

If you have a little time and patience, it is better to let the galette rest in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours so that the puff pastry becomes firmer again. If you are in a hurry, you can skip this step.

Preheat the oven to 220 ° C. Create a nice border. Brush twice with egg yolk. Let the first layer dry for about 5 minutes. Here, too, it is important to leave a small margin of approx. 1 mm so as not to prevent the puff pastry from rising.

Score decorations with a sharp and pointed knife. It is important to pierce small air holes with the knife so that the Galette des Rois does not collapse after baking. It is best to prick the decorations, then they will not stand out too much. Place the Galette des Rois in the middle of the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 180 ° C and bake for another 15–20 minutes until the puff pastry is nicely browned. Just before it's done, take it out of the oven and dust it very thinly with powdered sugar. Now switch the oven to grill. Place in the oven under the grill for another 2–5 minutes, until a shiny caramel has formed.

Lots of love,   
Caro ♥