Christmas is nearly here friends! And that means a scrumptious array of delicious cakes and baked goods....as much as I am a lover of rich fruity Christmas pudding, I always love to try new bakes from other countries.
This is a Galette Des Rois or 'King's Cake' as it translates. It's not technically a cake made to celebrate Christmas as traditionally it's eaten in January to celebrate the Epiphany, but I feel this is just perfect as a luxurious dessert at Christmas (mince pies are so last year).
This cake has a rather sweet tradition where by the youngest child hides under the table and tells whoever is cutting the cake who should get which piece. Whichever lucky person find the small charm (know as féve in their slice), names their King or Queen, and they get to wear the crown (many Galettes Des Rois you can buy come with a crown, but many put their charm on the outside and leave the hiding of the trinket up to the customers) and get to boss around all the family for the day.
Up until 1870, a broad bean would have been hidden inside (yum) but instead now collectible figurines (usually out of plastic, previously porcelain) are sealed inside, sometimes depicting classic movie stars, cartoons and works of art. You can even collect these year after year and build yourself a nice collection!
Interestingly French president François Hollande cannot take part in the tradition because of etiquette rules, therefore a galette without any hidden charms is served at Elysée Palace.
Almond, Honey and Orange Galette Des Rois
For the puff pastry:
250g/8oz plain flour
250g/8oz good quality unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
1 tsp lemon juice
Ice cold water, around 130ml- 150ml
For the frangipane filling:
100g/4oz unsalted butter, softened
100g/4oz caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten in a jug you can pour from
100g/4oz ground almonds
25g/1oz self raising flour, sieved
2 tbsp runny honey
Zest of a medium orange
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp apricot preserve
1 egg yolk beaten, to glaze
1 trinket (ring, figurine, penny, whatever you wish!)
Caster sugar to sprinkle
Baking tray
Greaseproof paper
1. Begin by making the detrempe (this is essentially the initial puff pastry dough before you begin the lamination process with alternating layers of butter and pastry). Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl and rub in 50g of the 250g butter. Rub together until a sandy breadcrumb like texture is achieved.
2. Make a well in the center and add in the lemon juice followed by enough cold water to make a dough that comes together into a ball. Knead until smooth, wrap in cling film and leave to rest for 20 minutes. This helps to relax the gluten so that it doesn't constantly ping back as you roll it and add your beurrage (aka butter). While your dough rests, make sure you leave your butter out so that it can soften. There is a fine art to the perfect butter softness: too hard and it will break through the paste when being rolled, and too soft and it will melt and ooze out, so make sure it's neither too hard nor too soft.
3. Roll out your detrempe into a large rectangle (about 50cm by 30cm), lightly flouring the surface if it begins to stick. Place the butter in between a sheet of greaseproof paper and bash it about with a rolling pin, and roll it to a size that will cover two thirds of your detrempe.
4. Place the butter over two thirds of the detrempe, from the bottom up. It should look similar to this (with slightly less butter covering the detrempe, I didn't quite get two thirds)
5. Complete the first single turn by folding both thirds into the center (it will a bit like an open book). It will look like this:
6. Then fold the bottom half on top to make roll of puff pastry. This is the first book turn/half turn and we need to do three more for our finished pastry. Wrap this in cling film and pop in the fridge for at least twenty minutes.
7. Complete the second turn by rolling the pastry out to about 50cm x 30cm and fold the same way as before, folding each third into the centre and then on top again. Chill for twenty minutes again and repeat a further two times. While the pastry is chilling after its final turn (20 mins), you can make the frangipane filling.
8. Cream together the butter, sugar and honey using an electric whisk until pale fluffy and creamy. Gradually add a little of the beaten egg, whisking well in between each addition. If you add it too fast it will curdle.
9. Fold in the orange zest, almond extract and vanilla. Mix together the flour and almonds and fold this in, don't over mix.
10. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Take your pastry out of the fridge and cut into half. Roll out each half on a lightly floured surface into a circle 23-25cm (it's best to use the bottom of a springform cake tin to be your guide). Put one circle onto your baking tray and carefully spread the apricot preserve, leaving an inch gap/2cm border. Spoon on the frangipane filling evenly, embed your trinket and cover with frangipane to hide it. Smooth over with a wet palette knife and place the other circle on top, ensuring good contact with the frangipane, to prevent any air bubbles forming. Smooth this down carefully with your hand.
11. Using a small cutter (easiest way is to coat in flour before and in between cuttings), mark out indentations and carefully cut away with a small knife. It will look a bit like a large daisy at this point. Make a small hole using your knife at the center of the galette to release steam when it is baking, preventing it from splitting during cooking. Brush with beaten egg yolk and chill for twenty minutes, meanwhile preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas Mark 7.
12. Using the back of a knife, carefully mark the pastry like the spokes of a wheel, carefully going from the center outwards, not cutting too deeply, just enough to create definition. It will look something like this:
13. Brush again with the beaten egg yolk and bake your preheated oven for ten minutes, before lowering to 190C/Fan 170C/Gas Mark 5 and baking for a further 45-1hr until a deep golden brown (not burnt). To check whether it is cooked, check the bottom for any signs of sogginess.
14. Take out the oven, place on a cooling rack and allow to cool for a good fifteen minutes or so (it tastes better and cuts better when not piping hot), and sprinkle with caster sugar before cutting into slices and serving. Make sure you tell everyone that there is something hidden inside though (potential choking crisis averted).
As always, enjoy and have a very Merry Christmas! ~
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