A galette des rois is a traditional pie of January in France. The day of Epiphany is best known for the traditional tasting of this epiphany cake. We put a charm inside the pie, then the cake is cut into several slices. Whoever gets the charm becomes king or queen. He/she has the privilege of receiving a crown as a symbol of her/his reign.
Now that you know the tradition of this special day, let’s jump into the real deal : the crusty recipe !
This recipe is for 5 people
Time required : 50 min
Baking time : 40 min
Resting time : 4 h
DIRECTIONS
Puff pastry :
240 g butter
400 g flour
50 g melted butter
184 g water
16 g white vinegar
8 g salt
Let the butter soft slightly out of the fridge for 30 min. Place the butter in a baking paper. Crush the butter in a rectangular and even shape. Keep it in the fridge until use.
In a mixing bowl, pour the flour with salt. Add water, vinegar and melted butter. Mix with a spatula. Knead the dough until it forms a ball. Do not knead the dough too much (2min max), we just want the dough to be homogeneous.
Film the dough in a rectangular shape (like the butter) and let the dough chill in the fridge for 1h. When the butter and the dough have chilled well. Remove the butter from the fridge for 20 min.
After resting time, roll out the dough so that it is twice as big as the butter.
Form a ‘sandwich’ with one layer of dough on top, one layer of butter in mid, and the second layer of dough at the bottom. The butter should be completely covered with the dough. These alternative layers are the start of our ‘tourage’ .
Check the texture of the butter and the dough, they must have the same consistency. Sprinkle flour on the work surface to prevent the dough from sticking to it.
Roll out the dough into a long rectangle shape to a thickness of 5mm.
For the double turn : close one end on itself and then fold the other end back to the same level. Then fold the dough in half. Film the dough and keep it in your fridge for 1h. Repeat this process 2 times.
Roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of 4 mm. Cut two circles using a mould (18 cm diameter)
Keep your puff pastry in the fridge until use.
Light frangipane :
90 g almond powder
65 g icing sugar
1 egg
3 egg yolks
30 g brown sugar
15 g cornstarch
10 g flour
25 g cold butter
Pour almond powder, icing sugar and the egg in a mixing bowl. Whisk it until it forms a homogeneous batter. This is an almond cream.
Boil the milk in a saucepan. Meanwhile, in a large bowl: mix the egg yolks with the sugar.
Add the cornstarch with the flour and continue to mix.
When the milk boils, pour it into the mixture (egg + sugar + corn starch + flour). Whisk it so that the mixture is homogeneous.
Transfer everything into the saucepan and cook over low heat until the mixture thickens. Be careful not to stop mixing with a whisk, otherwise, the cream may be grainy.
Once the cream thickens, let the pan heat (while stirring) for 2 minutes to ensure that the flour cooks completely.
Off the heat, add the very cold butter all at once and stir until it is completely melted and incorporated.
Pour the cream into a bowl and cover the cream with plastic wrap on contact.
Keep the cream in the fridge until ready to use.
After 1h, add 120g of pastry cream into the almond cream. This mixture is called a frangipane.
Gilding & presentation :
1 egg
2 tsp liquid cream (30% fat)
On a disk of dough, pipe the frangipane cream using a piping bag. Leave 2 cm margin on the edges.
Cover the frangipane and the dough with a second disk of dough to form a pie. Press the edges with your fingers to stick the two disks of dough.
Turn the cake over. This will make it more even when baking. Gild it a first time with a mixture of egg and liquid cream. Let the pie rest in the fridge for 1 hour then gild it a second time.
Preheat the oven at 190°C/ 374°F
Scratch the top of the galette making original drawings or a rosette with a knife. Prick the dough to make small holes. This will allow air to escape during baking.
Press the edges of the galette with the back of a knife to form relief.
Bake the galette for 40 to 45 min. I suggest you putting a second baking sheet 3 cm above your galette, so it will fill evenly.
You can decorate your galette with icing sugar and eat it lukewarm.
Now that you know how to make galette des rois, please tag me on Instagram to show me your creation (@theparisbest_baking). I would be so glad to give you my feedback and share it with the community !
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