This French version of King Cake is surprisingly easy to make using frozen puff pastry. Simply stir together four ingredients to make a luscious almond filling, slip a whole almond into the mix, then tightly seal the edges of the pastry. Score a pattern of your choice into the top, then bake. Dusted with powdered sugar and finished with a decorative gold crown, a Galette des Rois makes a beautiful addition to a festive brunch or dinner.
Twelfth Night
It’s the 5th of January, the last day of the Christmas season. It has been Twelve Days since Christmas Eve when we celebrated the birth of the baby Jesus. Now we celebrate the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem to visit the Newborn King, as told in Matthew 2.
Over the years my family has celebrated Twelfth Night and Epiphany (January 6) in a variety of ways. Our celebration has adapted to the size and age of our family. It also varies depending on the day of the week the holiday falls on and the parts of the tradition that seem most meaningful to us that year.
When my children were small the focus seemed to be on the gifts of the season. Back then they set out special bags on Twelfth Night. In the morning, small gifts filled the bags, left by the three kings as they passed on their journey. We also sang seasonal songs about gifts; “We Three Kings…” and “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Then we gathered the kings and their camels from around the house, where they had been wandering since we put out our nativity set during Advent, and placed them near the manger where baby Jesus lay.
Changing Focus
In time our focus on Twelfth Night shifted from gifting to celebrating. We set a pretty table with Christmas Crackers (those tube-shaped British favors with a “snap” and a surprise inside) at each place setting. Then we share a favorite family dinner and look forward to a King Cake for dessert. The King Cake always has a “baby” inside, often represented by a whole nut or piece of chocolate. I have posted several recipes for King Cake over the years.
There are many types of Twelfth Night Cakes served in different parts of the world. Most often my family has enjoyed a New Orleans style King Cake, made like a filled coffee cake of braided yeast bread drizzled with icing and sprinkled with colored sugar. One year I made a Twelfth Night Cake from a recipe for Eggnog Pound Cake in a elegant bundt pan. When rushed we simply bake a Cinnamon Coffee Cake, a quick family specialty with one whole pecan stirred in. Whoever is served the slice containing the “baby” wins a small gift, often a star shaped ornament or other trinket.
King Cake, French Style
This year I tried another King Cake I read about. It is called a Galette des Rois, a French version of the cake to celebrate Twelfth Night. This cake is fairly simple to prepare. It uses frozen puff pastry and adds an almond filling. A single whole almond is placed in the cream for the “baby”. Traditionally these cakes are topped with a paper crown. I couldn’t find one so I topped mine with a circlet of wide gold ribbon left from the holiday wrapping. I cut points in the top and stapled the ends together for a simple shiny crown.
Dusted with powdered sugar and topped with my ribbon crown our Galette des Rois is festive and appealing. It is rich and buttery but the filling is only lightly sweet, a good thing in my opinion. That sweetness is easily adjusted by the amount of powdered sugar sprinkled on top or, if you prefer, by adding up to an additional 1/4 cup of sugar to the filling.
Is it too late to make this cake for your Twelfth Night celebration? Don’t despair. It is perfectly appropriate to enjoy a King Cake throughout the month of January and all the way through Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. That gives you plenty of time to taste and share this delicious cake.
Enjoy!
Galette des Rois (French King Cake)
Course: DessertCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Easy8
servings20
minutes30
minutes50
minutesAdd a simple almond cream filling to purchased puff pastry to make a delicious cake perfect for celebrating the conclusion of the Christmas season.
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup almond flour (or finely ground almonds)
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 package (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry
1 whole shelled almond (or other “baby”)
Directions
- In a medium bowl, beat the butter until soft and smooth. Add the almond flour (or ground almonds) and sugar, mixing until well combined. Reserve about 1 Tablespoon of the beaten eggs in a small cup. Add the rest to the almond mixture and continue beating until smooth. Cover and set the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Thaw the frozen puff pastry in the refrigerator, according to package directions. When ready, unfold one sheet of puff pastry and cut an 8”- 9” circle from the center using a round plate, bowl or pan as a template. (I used a 9–inch tart pan for my template. It worked just like a big cookie cutter and even had a decorative fluted edge.) Place this circle of dough on a baking stone or greased cookie sheet.
- Take the almond mixture from the refrigerator and spread it evenly in the center of the puff pastry circle, leaving about 1-inch of outside edge of the pastry bare. Place the almond or “baby” somewhere near the edge of the almond cream, tucking it into the filling.
- Using the reserved beaten egg, lightly brush the top of the exposed edge of the pastry with the egg, being careful not to go over the edge onto the pan.
- Cut another circle from the second sheet of puff pastry using the same method. Place this circle over the top of the almond filling gently, matching the edges of the pastry. Smooth the pastry lightly from the center to the edges and press the edges together firmly, over the portion brushed with the egg, using a fork to seal the two pieces of dough together tightly.
- Using a knife, gently score a design into the top of the pastry, being very careful not to cut all of the way through.( I used a simple diamond criss-cross design, but the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.) Brush the remaining egg over the top of the puff pastry.
At this point the galette can be placed in the refrigerator until ready to bake. (I opted to go ahead and bake mine.) - When ready, preheat oven to 375F. Place the Galette des Rois in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
- Dust the top with powdered sugar, if desired. Oh, and don’t forget to place a gold crown on top (paper, ribbon or whatever kind you come up with.)
Place the almond or “baby” somewhere near the edge of the almond cream, tucking it into the filling.
I made this recipe, but when it baked, all the filling had spilled out. I pressed the edges of the dough exactly as stated. What went wrong?
It is important to get a good seal on the edges of the pastry when assembling this cake. That seal can be a bit tricky, depending on the pastry. When I baked the cake pictured above, there was a spot on one side that allowed a puddle of filling to leak out. It looked bad but when I trimmed the leaked filling away I found that the cake still looked good and tasted great.
That said, leaked filling is disappointing. Perhaps a little more egg brushed on the pastry in step 5 would help. Or, try making the edge pressed with the fork a little wider to make the seal more secure.
I hope that helps!
Yum! I'm totally licking my computer screen looking at that cake! I would eat that any night of the week.
what a unique use for puff pastry–it's new to me! that almond filling sounds heavenly, and the stories behind this tradition are so interesting. nice!