Galette des Rois uses puff pastry with a frangipane filling. It originated in France and was traditionally eaten on Epiphany Day which celebrates the arrival of the three kings at the manger of Jesus. Hence the name Galette des Rois which translates in English to King's Galette.
Galettes date back to the 1300s in France, more recently, gaudy imitations are baked in Louisiana and surrounding areas.
Once cooked, they can be eaten hot, warm or cold. They will keep in the fridge for two days. They are a perfect example of why French cuisine has produced pastries of the highest quality with only relatively simple ingredients.
Galettes can be sweet or savoury. Another example of a sweet galette is the Apple Galette. The classic example of a savoury galette is the Ham and Gruyere Cheese Galette.
400g / 14oz Ready made puff pastry
100g / 3½oz Butter
100g / 3½oz Caster sugar
100g / 3½oz Ground almonds
1 Medium egg
2 Heaped tablespoons apricot jam
2 tablespoons Cognac / brandy
PREPARATION TIME: 35 minutesTake the butter out of the fridge, cut into small cubes and let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Beat the egg until white and yolk are combined.
First make the frangipane filling. Place the butter and caster sugar in a bowl and combine together with your fingers. Then beat the mixture with a fork for a minute or until it becomes creamy.
Add the ground almond, beaten egg and cognac and mix well with a fork until all the ingredients are combined.
Turn on the oven now to 200°C / Fan 180°C / Gas Mark 6 / 400°F to pre-heat it in time for cooking your Galette des Rois.
STEP 2Take the puff pastry from the fridge and cut it in half. Roll out each half of pastry so that it is 25cm / 10in in diameter.
To make the rolling out process easier, place some flour on the surface below the pastry. Keep moving the pastry around when rolling out. Diagonal rolling as well as rolling up and down will help achieve an even shape.
We used a non-stick pastry mat placed on a table. They are ideal for this purpose and can be cleaned in the dishwasher. They also have pre-drawn circles so that you can get the size exactly correct.
STEP 3Place one of the pastry rounds on some non-stick baking paper. Spoon the apricot jam onto the pastry and then evenly spread leaving a 2cm / 1in gap round the edge.
Spread apricot jam over pastry
Spoon the frangipane filling onto the centre of the jam covered pastry. Using a spatula or broad knife gently spread the frangipane evenly out so that it covers the apricot jam.
Spread frangipane filling
To help seal the pastry, brush a small amount of water onto the exposed edge of the pastry round.
Place the remaining layer of pastry on top of the filling. Gently firm down the edges of the two pastry layers to seal the filling inside.
Seal edges of Galette des Rois
It is traditional to decorate the top pastry surface with lines. Choose whatever decoration you want. We have used a knife mark out rows of lines on the pastry surface.
Before putting the galette in the oven brush the surface of the pastry with beaten egg to give it a golden colour when cooked.
Decorated pastry top Galette des Rois
Place the galette des rois (with baking paper) on an oven proof dish and place in the pre-heated oven and cook for about 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
Turn round the galette half way through cooking to ensure it is evenly browned.