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
Carol & Bruce from the US
A perfect 2 weeks in Provence in the spring! My husband and I were delighted with the itinerary ‘FJFY’ put together for our 2-week self-drive road trip in Provence. During the planning stages Emilie and Laura asked insightful questions about our lifestyle and desires relating to travel. Communications were outstanding throughout the planning stage …
Kate
Thank you Emilie for such a wonderful honeymoon! Every detail was taken care of so that my husband and I could just relax and enjoy ourselves! It was absolutely the easiest trip we have ever planned and we will certainly be using France Just For You on our next trip to France!
DeLana
Emilie put together the best "bucket list" trip for my mother and myself. She listened to all of our requests and tailor made a vacation that was perfect. The attention to detail she paid our trip was mind blowing. She even had a full book made for us to guide us through our journey along with maps, tickets, etc. that were all date stamped …
Natalie & Family
My husband was born in France and moved to Australia in 1970 when he was just 5. He went back for the last time in 1980 and had not returned since. In January 2017 I started to formulate an idea to surprise him with a trip back home. Being Australian, we love road trips but without his French language skills I felt a bit scared to start booking …
Liz & Chris
A great team of Professional, Friendly people who really know France ! The team at France Just For you are Fantastic. From the first introductory email to the last farewell, they listened, planned, helped and crafted a brilliant trip around Bordeaux, Medoc and Dordogne. They responded immediately to questions as if we were the only people they had …
Jenifer
When planning my 60th birthday celebration, my sister and I stumbled upon France Just For You, which saved us from the potential nightmare of traveling with 40 strangers on a bus. As a result, my sister and I, along with our husbands, experienced a trip of a lifetime! From the beginning, Emilie was extraordinarily responsive, informative, and more …