Galette des Rois

After Christmas and New Year, the party continues in France. The Epiphanie celebrates the arrival of the Wise Men to the infant Jesus. And what better way to celebrate that with a cake!!!

The "Galette des Rois", or Kings' Cake, is traditionally made of an almond filling, Frangipane,  enclosed in two disks of puff pastry. Inside the filling you place a token, usually a small porcelain figure (one of the three Kings.....) and the person finding the token in his or her plate gets a paper crown and is the King or Queen for the day!!

Galette des Rois

Serves 10



2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed if frozen
1 egg

Frangipane:
250 g butter, softened
200 g sugar
250 g almond meal (I bought it at Trader Joe's)
2 Tbsp Tapioca starch
4 eggs
2 Tbsp Captain Morgan rum


Cream the butter in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar, almond meal, Tapioca starch. Mix well to remove any lumps. Add the eggs, one at a time and the rum. When all mixed, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Roll out the puff pastry into two disks. Place one on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or Silpat mat.

Whisk the egg with a little bit of water in a small bowl. Spread the Frangipane on the disk, leaving a  2-in border. Place the token in the Frangipane, pushing it in the filling so that no one can see its location. Do not place it in the center but closer to an edge. Otherwise when you cut the the Galette, your knife will keep running into it.
Brush the egg wash on the perimeter of the puff pastry and place the second disk on top. Press the two disks together to seal the almond cream inside.
With the tip of a knife, score the Galette decoratively, careful not to break through the puff pastry.
Brush the rest of the egg wash on the Galette. Poke a few holes on the top to allow air to escape when baking.
Refrigerate for one hour.

Bake at 360F for about 30 minutes, until golden brown and puffy.

When cooked, let cool completely and serve!

Note:

Tradition has the younger person in the room hide under the table while the hostess serves the Galette. That youngster decides who is having that piece of Galette. The lucky person who finds the token gets the golden paper crown and is King or Queen for the day!