Galette des Rois (King Cake)

 A Happy New Year to you all! The French Galette des Rois or “King Cake” celebrates the end of the Christmas season, on Epiphany January the 6th. It is made with two layers of puff pastry and filled with frangipane, a thick, sweet paste made from almonds, butter, eggs and sugar, and it is oh so delicious!   Tradionally baked inside the galette is a feve (a broad bean), and when the galette is sliced, and divided up by the number of people present, the youngest child of the family gets to decide who has which piece and the person who gets the fève in their piece of cake gets to be crowned King or Queen, and is in charge for the day! Now to avoid a trip to the dentist, just place a piece of candied fruit, an almond or a rasin instead of a feve. This is the first time I ever made a Galette, and I am so pleased with it! I was scared to make one, I thought it was complicated, but you know what it's not! Lots of little steps, but nothing you can't do I promise!






Almond Filling

1 cup (100g) almond flour ( my packet was 125g. and used all of it)
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
pinch salt
zest of 1/2 orange,
3 1/2 ounces (100g) unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons rum ( I used Grand Marnier)
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 pound (450g) puff pastry, divided in two pieces, chilled ( I bought two rounds)

a whole piece of almond or candied fruit to be the fève

Glaze
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon milk

1. To make the almond filling, in a medium bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the almond flour, sugar, salt, and orange zest. Mash in the butter until it’s completely incorporated. Stir in the eggs one at a time, along with the rum and almond extract. (The mixture may not look completely smooth, which is normal.) Cover and chill.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On lightly floured surface, roll one piece of puff pastry into a circle about 9 1/2-inches (23cm) round. Using a pot lid, plate, or bottom of springform pan as a template, trim the dough into neat circle. Place the dough on the baking sheet.

3. Cover it with a sheet of parchment paper or plastic film, then roll the other piece of dough into a circle, trim it, and lay it on top. Chill the dough for thirty minutes.

4. Remove the dough and almond filling from the refrigerator. Slide the second circle of dough and parchment or plastic from pan so that there is only one circle of dough on the parchment lined baking sheet. Spread the almond filling over the center of the dough, leaving a 1-inch (3cm) exposed border. Place an almond or piece of candied fruit to act as the fève (prize) somewhere in the almond filling, if you wish.

5. Brush water generously around the exposed perimeter of the dough then place the other circle of dough on top of the galette and press down to seal the edges very well. (At this point, you may wish to chill the galette since it’ll be a bit easier to finish and decorate, although it’s not necessary. It can be refrigerated overnight at this point, if you wish.)

6. To bake the galette, preheat the oven to 375ºF (180ºC.) Flute the sides of the dough (as shown in the photo in link below) and use a paring knife to create a design on top, being careful not to cut all the way through. . Stir together the egg yolk with the milk and brush it evenly over the top – avoid getting the glaze on the sides, which will inhibit the pastry from rising at the edges. Use a paring knife to poke 5 holes in the top, to allow steam escape while baking.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the galette is browned on top and up the sides. (During baking, if the galette puffs up too dramatically in the oven, you may want to poke it once or twice again with a paring knife to release the steam.) Remove from the oven and slide the galette off the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack. The galette will deflate as it cools, which is normal. Serve warm or at room temperature.


* keep your puff pastry cold, warm puff pastry will make everything harder
*I placed my frangipane filling in a plastic piping bag
*if you want a nice shiny finish, after baked, brush with some apricot jam, or sprinkle with some icing sugar and place under the broiler, under a watchful eye.



recipe from here 

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