Galette des Rois
King Cake for the New Years!I remember seeing this pastry pop up on my feed last year and I wanted to try making it ever since. I finally made it this year and just in time! Galette des Rois is delicious pastry made in January to celebrate Epiphany (January 6). You would usually hide a small trinket inside the pastry and whoever gets the slice with the trinket becomes king for the day!
It’s already the new year! And since I didn’t want to stress and tire myself out from the beginning, I decided to make some easy alterations.
Instead making the puff pastry from scratch, I simply bought it! You can find puff pastry easily in the freezer section and they’re usually really solid! However, most of them are made using oil, so they will fall a bit flat in the flavor department.
I also saw that it’s traditional to add pastry cream to the almond cream. I didn’t want to take out a pot just to make a small batch of pastry cream, so I opted to use David Lebovitz recipe that doesn’t call for it! I do want to try it with the pastry cream one day and see what a difference it makes. So instead I made just almond cream instead of frangipane.
Ingredients
2 puff pastry sheets
Almond Cream
1 cup (100 grams) almond flour
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
Pinch salt
Zest of 1/2 orange
7 tablespoons (100 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons rum
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
An almond
Egg Wash
1 egg yolk
Splash of milk
Directions
Combine 1 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup sugar, pinch of salt, and the zest from 1/2 an orange in a bowl. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon. Then add 7 tablespoons softened unsalted butter. Mash everything together and mix to fully combine. Once combined, add 2 large eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. The almond cream will be a lot looser now. Finally, add 2 teaspoons rum and 1/8 teaspoon almond extract and mix together. Cover your bowl and store in the refrigerator to chill.
Take out your puff pastry sheets and roll them out with a rolling pin until it is at least 9.5”x9.5” Get a 9.5” round use use it to cut out circles from both sheets. I use a tart mold or the bottom of a springform pan. Stack your circles on top of each other with a parchment paper between and place on a baking sheet covered to store in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, move one of your doughs aside. Find a bowl that will leave a 1-inch border around the dough. Use it to trace a circle within your dough. Then spread your almond filling evenly throughout the inner circle. At this point, hide your almond in the almond filling. Score the outside of the circle with a pairing knife then brush the edges with water. Get your second dough circle and place it on top smoothening it out so that no air pockets remain. Gently but firmly press the edges together so that they completely seal. You can use the previous bowl to gently seal the round as well. Then use the dull side of your pairing knife to scallop the edges pushing into the dough about 1/2-inch deep while pressing your thumb down into the dough. Once done, refrigerate your pastry once again for 30 minutes so that it is easier to work with.
Once chilled again, use a toothpick to poke holes throughout the top of your pastry. Then flip the pastry upside down onto a silicone baking mat in a sheet pan. Mix together 1 egg yolk and a splash of milk. Brush the egg wash onto the pastry evenly. Then transfer uncovered to the refrigerator for another 30 minutes for the egg wash to dry out.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F with the convection fan on.
After 30 minutes, apply another even layer of the egg wash. Use your toothpick to make a larger hole in the center of your pastry. Then use the pairing knife to make a design on top. I made 4 curved lines. Then another 4 curved lines within those lines. And another 4 after that. Then I made alternating hatch marks within. Use a toothpick to poke more holes on top. I poke my holes where I already cut through with the knife. Then find 4 oven-safe object that are 1.5-inches high and place them at the four corners of your sheet pan. Use another sheet pan and place it on top to see how stable it is. This will be used to compress the pastry and it puffs up during baking so that it can remain flat.
Bake for 25 minutes then lower the oven to 325 degrees F with the convection on. Rotate the pan and then top it with a parchment paper and then another sheet pan with an oven-safe weight on top. I used my ceramic baking dish. Bake for 15 more minutes.
After 15 minutes, remove the top baking sheet, rotate the pan, then bake for 5-10 more minutes until fully browned. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes or so.
Use a serrated knife to cut into your King cake and enjoy!
