Sunday February 7, 2010 Week 38

Galette des Rois

Yup, King Cake!!! You know those dry cream cheese-filled cakes you buy at the store with a ton of yellow, purple and green sugar all over the top of it??? Purge that from your palette!!! This is the french version of King cake. Traditionally this is eaten in France just after the Bouche de Noel is finished! This is truly the "Kings' cake" in honor of the Three Kings or the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. This is wonderful!!!

Last year on Fat Tuesday, Roger ( our choir director) had king cake for the choir. As is the tradition, the person who finds the baby in the cake has to bake the cake the following year. Well, I found the little, naked, plastic, baby! I was afraid I would forget that I was to bake the cake so I've carried the little, naked, plastic baby around with me in my purse all year...even when I switched purses...even when I went to Paris!! (This has been the source of many an interesting conversation, but I digress!) I've been dreading the cake baking because I don't like King cake. I don't like cream cheese filling and I don't like all the colored sugar on the top. When Roger e-mailed me about a conversation he had with Melanie, a fellow singer and French officianado , about French "Kings' Cake" I snatched at the life-line, fairly certain that the French would have a better solution than cream cheese and sugar and they did!!! I Googled French Kings' Cake and found this recipe. So glad my fellow choristers enjoyed it!! Oh yes, I didn't actually add the baby to the cake but used a bean instead. I was afraid the small naked plastic baby would melt!

1 package of puff pastry, thawed.

For the frangipane:

1 stick of butter softened

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup almond flour (or hazel nut flour or any nut, really) grind enough nuts in a food processor until it yields 1 cup of "flour"

2 eggs

1 T rum if you like

1 egg extra for egg wash

1 dried bean or charm to hide in the cake.

Blend the butter and sugar, add the nut flour and each egg, one at a time. Add rum.

Open the puff pastry and unfold. You should have two squares per package. Round off the corners of the bottom pastry and brush an egg wash around 1/2 inch of the edge.

Spread frangipane on the bottom and put the bean or charm in the cake near an edge. Place the top crust (with corners also cut). Take a fork and crimp the edges. (Make sure they are crimped well, as you don't want the insides flowing out into your oven...trust me on this!!!) Egg wash the entire top and put into the fridge for 1/2 hour.

Put Galette into preheated 400 degree oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. (mine took 20 in a convection oven)

Don't forget to warn your eaters about the bean. The person who finds the bean ( or baby) in the cake is King for the Day (and also has to bake the Kings' Cake next year!!!