Baking with Dorie: Galette des Rois

It's that time of year again:  Time for Epiphany and Kings' Cakes, galettes des rois!  Last year's best galette des rois was the one above, an Ispahan galette filled with rose-almond cream and raspberries, and it was brought to us by my patissier prefere, its creator, Pierre Herme (above).

Epiphany is officially January 6, but the pastry shops here in Paris are filled with galettes - have been since January 2; will be for a couple of weeks more.  And to celebrate this delicious pastry and its customs (when you click through you'll read all about finding the trinket and winning the crown), the galette des rois is this week's Baking with Dorie recipe on Serious Eats. 

Of course I hope you'll make it and love it, but I also hope you'll be the one to find the trinket tucked inside the cake!

These trinkets - or feves, as they're called - were collected from previous galettes.  I just might cheat a bit and recycle one of them into my own Kings Cake this Sunday.

Comments

[Dorie]

Thanks for your sweet wishes, Tamima.

Gemma -- you've made my day! I'm delighted that you made the galette, but the thing that really makes me happy is that you say you've now got the confidence to bake some more! Hooray! Please, write and let me know what you do.

[Gemma]

Thanks for your lovely galette recipe. I made this a week late for dinner with friends and 4 of us polished it off very easily in honour of my blog's birthday! It's given me the confidence to try some of the other recipes in Paris Sweets which I was sure would be too scarily hard.

[Tamami]

Thank you Dorie.
That clears the questions I had on them! I hope your traveling & work isn't swamping you too much, & don't forget to give yourself a breather! (of sweet aroma no doubt!)
xx

[Dorie]

Tamami, sorry your very interesting question got buried and I didn't answer it sooner. I think that the differences you pointed out between pithiviers and galettes are all true. I've always thought that the major difference between a pithivier and a galette is that a pithivier has more filling and so it's domed and higher than a galette. However, the pattern that you etch on the top piece of puff pastry can differ between a pithivier and a galette as can the scalloping on the edges, so that covers all the bases, doesn't it? I think Pithiviers are sold all over France, but, naturally, they're most closely associated with their hometown, Pithiviers.

[Dorie]

Sorry to be sooooooooo late responding -- it's not that I don't love your comments -- I love them, I them! -- it's just that I've been swamped and traveling doesn't help swampedness.

Maria, at long, long last I know first-hand how much fun it is to find the feve: I found my first one Sunday afternoon!

JEP, I'm particularly sorry I didn't respond to your comment sooner, because I want to encourage you to try to make the galette. It's really, really not hard - although it is an arts and crafts project. The almond and pastry creams are easy and fast to make and you can use storebought puff pastry. You can do it! You can do it! I'm so sure you can do it!

Marianna, I promise not to tell a soul that you nibbled a galette des rois before the appointed day. The way I see it, if they're in the baker's window, then it's legit to start eating!

Ethan, I'm delighted you made the galette -- hooray for you -- and so happy that your friends liked it. That you got the bean seems only fitting -- after all, you're the guy that did all the work.

Shauna, I'm with you -- I think it's a tie. I'd hate to have to pick a winner among the guy, the cake and the look.

Mmm -- great story! All except the melted feve part ... funny about those plastic trinkets, huh?

Marigail, I didn't meant to tease you, but I guess I did. I don't have a recipe for the Ispahan galette, but I know that it's a traditional galette in terms of puff pastry (although at the shop, the galette is "painted" with something to make it a gorgeous reddish color) and that the filling is based on the traditional almond cream (the one I give the recipe for)- but it is flavored with rose extract. (I think you could use a rose syrup for the flavoring.) Fresh raspberries are scattered over the almond cream before the top of the galette is set into place. Does that help?

Steve, I don't have a source for the feves. Actually, I've been recycling the ones I've collected from storebought galettes.

[Steve in San Antonio]

Any sources for the feves? I just made the Spanish version (Roscon de Reyes) but I think the French win this one hands down!

[Marigail]

Last year's best galette des rois , an Ispahan galette filled with rose-almond cream and raspberries, by Pierre Herme, looks and sounds delicious! BUT, where is the recipe? I would love to make it here in the states since I will not be in Paris. Sounds grand.. this certainly was a teaser and I am looking forward to the recipe.
Thank you,
Marigail

[Mmm]

Nobody at the party -- Roger's annual Twelfth Night affair -- got to wear the bejweled crown that Beth was still blow-drying the glitter-glue onto when the galette was coming out of the oven. Alas, the cocktail monkey feve either lodged in the throat of some stoic who never uttered a complaint, or it melted in the 475-degree oven (it was plastic -- oops!) and became an integral part of that delicious almond/vanilla cream. I guess we'll never know -- at least I hope not.

That didn't stop the mmmmms and requests for the recipe.

It was a last-minute joint effort (I had read your blog in the morning; the galette seemed perfect for last night's party). My contribution had a great recipe to follow. Beth's crown was a marvel of ingenuity.

[shuna fish lydon]

I can't tell what looks prettier or more delicious in this photo: Him, the cake, or The Look.

[Ethan]

I made the galette for our 12th Night Party last night, and it was so delicious. Thank you for the recipe. And as luck would have it I found the bean.

[MariannaF]

Exactly like you said- the galettes have been calling our names at every patissier & boulanger for the last few days, but today is the official day to be eating them! (and even if we couldn't resist and nibbled some before, let's pretent like it never happened!)

[Tamami]

Happy New Year Dorie!
Can you please tell me the difference of pithivier & the galette des rois?
.
I've been researching online, & some say the only difference is that pithivier can be sold throughout the year. Some say the difference is in the height of the two cakes... Or I've also read that pithivier has to have one particular type of pattern scored on it & is sold in one particular area of France...??
.
If you could shed some light on this, I'd very much appreciate it. Many thanks, & I wish you the very best 2008!
Tamami xx

[JEP]

I'm in awe of your talent! I'd love to eat one of these but in no way would attempt to prepare one!

[Maria]

I used to make a king cake every year with my friends when I was in high school! They are fun!! The hidden treasure is always fun to find!