Sorry for posting this on Epiphany itself! Galette Des Rois is the french way of celebrating Kings Day, which was created to honor the day that the Three Wise Men traveled to baby Jesus. It’s a festive way to keep the Christmas celebrations going whether or not you are a Christian.
And while I am a Christian, I just simply enjoy good bakes and a galette des rois is exactly that! In case you’re not familiar with the french version of a king cake, it’s quite different than the Mardi Gras version. It’s a top and bottom layer of puff pastry (homemade is best). And the center filling is an almond cream or whatever nuts you like.
When it isn’t Epiphany season, a galette des rois is better known as a pithivier. That’s when you fill it with whatever you wish, like a pecan pie or savory interior. I would warn that if your filling is too liquidy, it might seep out between the two layers of puff pastry.
This is also a great winter recipe because you want to work on cold countertops, which AC-less buildings in the summer are not the best for.
Master the art of puff pastry and you’ll have mastered the galette des rois. The great thing about the puff pastry is that it’s not like croissant dough. Well, it’s very similar, but butter in the dough itself makes it much easier to roll out the laminated pastry. I far prefer making puff pastry to croissant dough because it works every time.
Another key thing is to keep the dough chill. I always chill it for at least 20 minutes in between rolling it out. But then you also have to wait 5-10 minutes for the layers to thaw back to be able to roll. If it’s too stiff, the butter breaks instead of creating a smooth sheet. So yeah, I guess it can be a temperamental thing, but if you follow this rule of chilling, you’re pretty set!
Also use a french rolling pin please and always!
Galette Des Rois
Ingredients
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 2/3 cup water warm
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp (1 cup)
- 4 Tbsp melted butter
- 1/3 c sugar
- 3/4 c ground almond flour
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 tsp rum or liquor optional
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp water
Instructions
- Puff Pastry: In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine the 6 Tbsp butter and water. Mix in the salt and flour.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface or use the dough hook until the dough unsticks from the surface and can be formed into a smooth ball. Cover in wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes (cool to touch).
- Meanwhile, prep your butter. It can be helpful to start near room temperature. Roll out your butter between parchment paper. I like to fold the parchment around the butter into an 8 inch x 8 inch square and let the rolling do the trick to fill out the parcel. Refrigerate for 30 min.
- The dough and butter should be of similar pliability, not too stiff. Remove both from the fridge. Wait about 10 minutes so it thaws a bit. Place the dough on a slightly floured surface, rolling it out to a 12 inch x 12 inch square.
- Place the butter block in a diamond (45 degrees off from the dough) and fold the corners of the dough to cover the butter block completely. You should end up with an 8x8 inch block of dough wrapping the butter.
- Roll out the pastry dough to 16 inch x 24 inch. Fold it in thirds like a letter. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 min.
- Remove pastry dough from the fridge and wait 10 minutes. Repeat the folds twice, chilling between every second fold. Let it chill for an hour.
- Almond Filling: While the dough is chilling, make the filling. Combine the 4 Tbsp melted butter, 1/3 c sugar, 3/4 c almond flour and 1 egg. Set aside.
- Next, prep the puff pastry. Roll it out to 8 inch x 12 inch. Cut it in half. Cover and refrigerate one half. For the other, roll out to 10 inch x 10 inch. Using a 9 inch circular pan or large mixing bowl, score the dough to mark the edges of the galette des rois. Refrigerate and repeat with the second half. Do not cut the discs out.
- Depending on your preference, you can start drawing lines with a knife to create a design now or after it's assembled. Many traditional patterns start by scoring from the center of the circle, radiating outwards.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Assembly: Place the lower half of the pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread the filling the center of the pastry, leaving a 1-2 inch border from the edge of the marked circle. Gently center and place the top pastry above everything. Using the 9 inch circular pan, cut out the pastry. Score the top pastry if you haven't yet. Refrigerate again to keep cool for 10 minutes.
- Make the egg wash by beating 1 egg with 1 Tbsp of water.
- Use the egg wash and brush the pastry with it. Refrigerate for 10 min and repeat before placing the pastry in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Lower to 350°F and bake for another 30 minutes until golden brown and puffy.
- Make the simple syrup from sugar and water. You can simply microwave it for 30 seconds at a time, until the sugar dissolves or melt it over the stove.
- When the pastry is baked, remove from the oven and immediately brush with the simple syrup. Cool to room temperature and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Whenever you are not actively working with any part of the dough, cover and refrigerate it, especially if the kitchen is warm.
- Puff pastry and filling based on Le Cordon Bleu's Galette des Rois
- With the scrap pastry, create something fun out of it and bake for about 15 min to cook!
- If you want extra crunch, add 1/3 c of extra nuts like pistachio or crushed pecans
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