The galette des rois is a popular tradition in Francophone parts of the world to mark the end of Christmas and to draw the kings to the Epiphany. A figurine or, in this case, a bean is placed inside the cake and the person who finds the bean becomes king for the day and has to provide the cake for the next year. It's also common for the cake to be decorated with a crown for the finder of the bean to wear.
Anyway, to the most important bit - the recipe... One of my more demanding friends requested this recipe. However, the original recipe, of which this is an adaptation, came from the Telegraph .
You will need:
- 2 packets of puff pastry, totalling around 700g.
You can make your own but shop bought pastry is much easier to use and the smugness of making your own pastry might be short lived...
- 200g of ground almonds
- 150g of sugar
- 100g of softened butter. Don't use margarine, it doesn't taste quite right
- 2 eggs
Whack the oven onto 210 degrees Celsius.
Line the bottom and sides of a pie dish or flan case with one packet of the puff pastry and trim the excess.
Mix the almonds, sugar, butter and eggs together to make a paste. You could probably use marzipan in its place if you're lazy as it will have a similar result.
Spread the almond paste evenly across the puff pastried dish. Cover with the other puff pastry packet, trim the excess and crimp the edges using a fork. Score with a criss-cross pattern and glaze with an egg wash.
Pop in the oven for 30 mins or until golden and puffed.
Voila! Galette des rois
