French Galette des rois

The traditional French galette des rois "King cake" recipe, with a classic homemade puff pastry crispy, filled with Frangipane almond cream.

The French galette des rois

Without going into the details of its origin, the French galette des rois is usually made on the occasion of the Epiphany day called Epiphany cake or king's cake.

But it is above all a delicious dessert, composed of a super-crispy homemade puff pastry, with a tasty filling of almond Frangipane cream.

With Frangipane cream

Frangipane is simply the mixture of almond cream and pastry cream that gives birth to this fabulous almond cream recipe.

Ingredients and materials to make the "galette des rois".

To make a successful galette des rois follow well the indications of the recipe, but also equip yourself with the materials and the good ingredients:

• A stand mixer to make the home-made puff pastry.
• A pastry rolling pin
• A 10 inch tart ring to cut a round cake.
• A pizza wheel to cut puff pastry dough
• A sugarcraft knife or a bread blade for scratching the bread.
• A pastry brush for gilding
• A baking tray for baking
• An electric mixer

How to make the French galette des rois?

Homemade puff pastry

For the homemade puff pastry is composed of the dough + butter.

Preparation of the dough

1. Start by making the dough following the instructions in the recipe sheet.
2. Then form a ball with the dough and cut it crosswise with a knife, wrap in cling film and place in the chill for 2 hours.

Preparation of the butter

1. Take a sheet of baking paper and fold it into 4 to form a square of about 6 inch /15 cm.
2. Then place the cut butter in the center, fold over the edges and using a rolling pin, first tap the butter to flatten it, then roll it down to form a butter plate.
3. Finally place your butter plate in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Incorporation of the butter in the dough :

1. Take the dough out of the fridge and spread the dough to form a square slightly larger than the butter plate.
2. Then place the butter plate on the dough and fold the edges down to cover the butter completely.
3. Then, weld the joints with your fingers to seal the butter inside the dough.
4. Then turn the dough over and immediately proceed to turn the puff pastry.

Puff pastry turning technique

This pastry technique which consists in folding the dough several times to obtain a superposition of layers of dough and butter which when baked will give a delicious puff pastry.

Also, between each turn, the dough should be left to chill in the fridge (or in the freezer if you are in a hurry), to avoid the butter and the dough from mixing and the puff pastry from disappearing.

And to make the puff pastry, the ideal is that the temperature of the dough is the same as the butter, if the butter is too cold it can marble and if it is too hot it melts.

For a classic puff pastry you need 6 turns.

To obtain the 6 turns, you must do :

• 1 double turn + 1 single turn and let the dough chill in the fridge for 1h30 - 2 hours.
• 1 double turn + 1 single turn and chill in the fridge for 1h30 - 2 hours.
• 1 single turn and chill  in the fridge for about 1 hour.

This gives a total of = 6 turns (1.5 + 1 + 1 + 1.5 + 1 + 1 + 1).

Turn the puff pastry

First double turn

1. Start by rolling out the dough on a lightly floured work surface with a rolling pin to a length of about 40 cm.
2. Then fold the top edge over ¼ of the length of the dough (see pictures).
3. And fold the remaining ¾
4. Finish by folding in 2 again.
5. And turn the dough by a quarter to the right to make the single turn immediately,

Single turn and 1st chill

1. Spread the dough lengthwise again.
2. Fold down the top edge (see picture).
3. Then fold the bottom edge over the dough.
4. Finish by covering your dough with cling film and place in the frigde for the first chill.

Other turns

1. After the first chill of the dough, repeat the previous step again, making a second double turn and single turn and let the dough chill again in the fridge.
2. Then proceed to the last single turn and let the dough chill again in the fridge at least 1 hour before the assembly of the galette des rois.

How to make frangipane

To make homemade frangipane, first make an almond cream, then a pastry cream and mix them together to obtain the frangipane cream.

The almond cream

1. First place the butter in a bowl and beat it with the powdered sugar.
2. Then incorporate the other ingredients and mix to obtain a homogeneous cream.
3. Place in the fridge while preparing the custard cream.

The custard cream

1. Start by bringing the milk and vanilla to the boil and leave to infuse for 15 minutes.
2. In the meantime, beat the egg yolks with the sugar in a bowl, then add the flour and mix.
3. Finally add the milk and mix with a whisk.
4. Then put everything back into the pan and over a medium heat bring to the boil while whisking.
5. At the first boil, continue cooking the cream for another minute.
6. Finally, transfer the custard to a large baking dish and cover with a cling film.
7. Place in the fridge until the custard has cooled completely.

Preparation of the frangipane cream

1. Start by placing the almond cream in a large container and beating with an electric mixer.
2. Then incorporate the custard cream and continue beating until a smooth, homogeneous frangipane cream is obtained.
3. Set aside until the galette des rois is ready.

Assembly of the galette des rois

1. Start by spreading the puff pastry out to a thickness of about 3 mm.
2. Then move the puff pastry on baking paper.
3. And using a tart ring or a large plate, cut out 2 circles of 10 inch diameter (you can also cut out the cake at the end, once filled and covered).
4. Finally, place a circle of puff pastry on a baking tray covered with baking paper.
5. Then garnish the center of the pastry circle with frangipane cream. (use a pastry bag to fill the cream more easily).
6. Also, place your bean inside.
7. And using a pastry brush and water, moisten the edges of the dough.
8. Finish by placing the second pastry circle to cover the filling.
9. And weld the edges together by pressing lightly with your fingers.

How to scratch the galette des rois

1. Finally scratch the cake with a sugarcraft knife, or a special bread blade with the pattern of your choice. (be careful not to press too hard or the filling may escape during baking).
2. And apply the egg gilding with a pastry brush (you can also apply the gilding before the scratching, but I like to do it after).

Cooking of the galette des rois

1. Place your cake in the fridge for 30 minutes or 10 minutes in the freezer.
2. Finish by baking in the oven.

For a nice shiny and crispy golden brown.

The Chef tip: after baking the galette, raise the oven to 240°C, sprinkle the galette des rois with powdered sugar and put it back in the oven for 2 to 5 minutes.

But, be careful to watch carefully because it can burn quickly.

How to store the galette des rois

For the conservation of the galette des rois, at room temperature, about 3-5 days max, or in the freezer up to 3 months.

French galette des rois video