The Galette des Rois is made to celebrate the Epiphany, the arrival of the Magi to visit the baby Jesus, on January 6th. The Brioche des Rois is more traditional in southern France, while the Galette is the king in northern France.

 

INGREDIENTS:

[Serves 8 people]

For the pastry cream:

  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

 

For the almond cream:

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1-1/4 cup ground almonds
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup softened butter
  • A splash of rum (optional)

 

  • 2 store-brought crusts, or you can make your own "pâte feuilletée"
  • 1 yolk for brushing the crust before baking
  • A paper crown and a "feve" (small trinket hidden in the pastry - you could use a dried bean)

 

 

 

Galette des Rois
©

AdobeFirefly

INSTRUCTIONS

  • For the pastry cream, beat the eggs and the sugar for 1 minute. Heat the milk and vanilla in a pot, then add the egg-sugar mixture. Heat on low until the mixture thickens. Cover the mixture with saran wrap, making it touch the top of the cream, and cool for 1 hour.
  • For the almond cream, mix the butter and the sugar. Add each egg yolk seperately, then mix in the ground almonds and the rum, if you wish.
  • Mix the pastry cream and the almond cream together. You can put this into a pastry bag to pipe onto the bottom crust in a spiral fashion, but I just pour it into the middle of the crust, keeping about a 1 inch border.
  • Add the "feve", but not too close to the middle in order to avoid hitting it when cutting to serve.
  • Brush some yolk on the outside border, place the second crust on top, and pinch to seal. You may use a knife to lightly cut some designs into the top of the galette.
  • Brush the remaining yolk on top, and bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 400°, then lower the temperature to 350° and continue baking for about 30 minutes.

     

 

working in the kitchen!

 The tradition is that the youngest person closes their eyes and says who each piece is for while the galette is being cut. The person who finds the "feve" in their slice is crowned King or Queen. For us, it was my husband Jean-François, and he wore the crown the whole day!

JF crowned king

 Jean-François is king for the day (Photo : Laura Crotet)

 

- Laura Crotet, France Just For You

If you would like to be royalty for a day while traveling in France, contact us to help you plan your trip.

France Just For You

Experts in self-drive tours in France

Travelers Reviews

5.0
Marlene & Terry
Emilie, You are the best! Everything you selected for us was perfect in every way. All the tickets, tours and reservations were handled well and we thank you for arranging such a beautiful vacation. We are recommending you to everyone we talk to. If you are ever in Toronto, we would be happy to host you and Guillaume!
Cathy
France Just For You planned the trip of a lifetime for my husband and me. We traveled to Normandy, St. Saint Michele, the Loire Valley and Provence. We are typically not road trip travelers, but this adventure brought us closer to the wonderful people of France than any group tour or "drop and plop" vacation could ever do. The bed and breakfasts …
Kate
Dealing with Emilie is like having a personal concierge. The 10 day trip was perfect. She allowed time to relax and we were able to experience France like locals. This is our 8 th trip to France but after this tour, it will not be our last. Thank you Emilie!
Sandy & Dennis
Emilie and Guillaume planned a wonderful trip for us. The B&Bs we stayed in were outstanding. Every recommendation -from restaurants to walks to things to do and see -was wonderful. They were very responsive to all our questions and concerns. I recommend them VERY highly and without reservation.
Michael
My wife and I are fairly seasoned travelers so when we decided to include a trip to France in our year long 50th Anniversary Celebration we wanted to do something different. We looked at group travel companies including those who specialize in "small" groups. None of them had the flavor we were looking for. In my search for somethin new I happened …
Mervyn
My wife and I and two friends decided we would like to visit France and by chance I found Emilie's website and initiated an online conversation with her over a year ago. We really did not know what we wanted to do, nor where we wanted to go and so our planning became a moving feast, most ably supported by Emilie. How she ever put up with our …