The origin of the galette des rois and its recipe

Even if I haven't had much luck this year (yes the bean has escaped me three times), I'm going to buy a fourth galette des Rois, since apart from its very playful side, this pastry also remains very delicious, especially the frangipane. Yum!

The history of the galette des Rois

Intended to commemorate the Epiphany, the galette des Rois is a Christian tradition that dates back to the fourteenth century. Event directly related to the birth of Jesus Christ, as well as the three Magi, the feast of kings originally dated from Ancient Rome, when the Romans celebrated the saturnalia which was simply the celebration of the arrival of the solstice of winter.

Exceptionally in this period, the slaves were freed and large banquets were organized by the large and rich Roman families. The Master of the Saturnalia, or the King of Disorders (the slaves) was then elected there with the help of bean seeds hidden in a cake. This tradition is taken up centuries later by the court of France. The principle remains the same, but this time the household and its guests shared a cake with a very thick dough in a round shape which was also called the "cake of the Kings".

A child was then in charge of distributing the shares of the cake and the person who inherited the share with the bean became king or queen. In the nineteenth century, broad bean seeds were replaced by porcelain beans.

Kings cake recipe

How about a homemade galette de Rois? Here is an easy recipe! To make this pastry for 8 people, you will need two puff pastry sheets (already made to save time), 300 grams of powdered almonds, 150 grams of butter and caster sugar, 2 tablespoons of orange blossom , two eggs, without forgetting the fève and the crown.

Most of the recipe will consist mainly in the preparation of the frangipane cream. As far as I am concerned, I start by mixing the softened butter, sugar, ground almonds and orange blossom in a large container. I knead and knead well with my fingers to obtain a mixture that is both creamy and consistent and I preheat my oven to thermostat 6 (200 degrees). I add the two egg yolks stripped of their whites, then I mix everything with a mixer.

Once the frangipane cream is uniform and without lumps, I spread it evenly on the first layer of puff pastry with a spatula, making sure to insert the bean. Then I cover with the second puff pastry, closing the edges well and I let it cook for half an hour.