January | 2011 | French For Foodies

Archive | January, 2011

How to make a “Galette des Rois”- France’s ‘Christmas Cake of Kings’

Galette des Rois- Frangipane et Pistache citron by Gontran Cherrier

It’s January in France- the buzzing and festive time of year when every boulangerie window in France is filled with impressive displays of the traditional French pastry called la “Galette des Rois” – literally translated as “Kings Cake” or “The Cake of three kings.”

Starting from January 6th, this delicious, flaky pastry with a delicate buttery crust is traditionally filled with frangipane (almond cream paste), and in the south of France, you will also find a brioche-like version filled with glazed fruit called Gateau des Rois. The Galette des Rois celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany, when the three wise men came to see the baby Jesus.

Tradition has it that a lucky charm- a small porcelain figurine (originally a small fève or bean), is buried in the almond cream before the top layer of puff pastry seals the cake and baked into the galette, then whoever is lucky enough to find it in their slice, is crowned King for the day and granted the honor of wearing the golden crown (The galettes are always sold with a cardboard gold crown purely to serve this purpose and tradition)- so it’s not just the children who get to have all the fun!

Galette des Rois in Paris bakery windows

Galette Fever. The Galette des Rois fills boulangerie window displays all over France through the month of January

So, if you’re not in France and can’t get your hands on a traditional Galette des Rois this January, or you just simply want the fun and pleasure of making your own, as promised here is a brilliant recipe from our favorite Parisian baker whose Galettes are selling like hotcakes in Paris right now- the talented Gontran Cherrier. Gontran has generously shared the delicious recipe for his popular lemon and pistachio Galette- as shown in the pics below. The lemon and pistachio galette is a wonderful balance and combination of flavors, with the delicate pistachio nutty pistachio complimented by small bursts of citrus flavor from the candied lemon in a smooth but not overly sweet paste which is nestled between layers and layers of perfectly crafted feuilleté pastry. Divine!

Gontran Cherrier cutting galette des Rois

Boulanger Gontran Cherrier with his assortment of freshly baked Galletes des Rois

Galette des Rois- Mediterranean pistachio and lemon

The recipe does not include making the puff pastry from scratch, but if you really want to have a go at making your own pastry (and I highly recommend you give it a go), here are some great resources to guide you in the right direction:

Fail-proof puff pastry recipe and detailed instructions using tips of the trade from Ecole Ferrandi

A French-American mother and daughter team teach us how to make the galette from scratch, straight from their kitchen (video in English).

You can make either the traditional ‘frangipane’ version simply with ground almonds, or experiment with different flavors such as the lemon and pistachio, or try other non-traditional aromatic additions such as candied orange zest and sweet spices like cinnamon.

Recipe:
Gontran Cherrier’s Mediterranean Galette des Rois with Lemon and Pistachio
Galette des Rois- la Mediterranenne avec crème d’amande, pistache et citron confit

Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients:

2 discs of puff pastry- 24 cm in diameter.
70g butter
70g sugar
1 egg
50g finely ground pistachios
20g finely ground almonds
10g plain flour
10 g candied lemon peel

1 egg
1 pinch sea salt/fleur de sel

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 ° C.

Soften butter to a spreadable consistency. Add the caster sugar in mixer and whisk until it whitens ‘creams’ to form a thick texture.

Add the egg and continue mixing until smooth and combined.

Add the ground pistachio and almond flour and mix well.

Finely chop the candied lemon and add to the mixture.
Prepare a flat baking tray with a layer of baking paper. Place one of the discs of puff pastry on the baking sheet. Using a baking brush wet a 2-3 cm perimeter edge on the pastry disc with water.

Spoon the almond pistachio mixture into the middle of the pastry disc and spread out the mixture, stopping 3 cm’s from the edge. Strategically place your ‘fève’s’ (you can also use one or 2 cent coins) into the almond mixture. Gently place the second disc of puff pastry over the top, and using the back of a knife held vertically at 45 °, press and seal together the 3cm edge of the two pastry sheets. Gently etch a design of your choice into the top disc of pastry using the edge of a knife.

Beat the egg with a pinch of salt. Use the pastry bush to spread on a thin layer of egg glaze of over the top disc of pastry.

Bake for approx 25 minutes, until puffy and golden.

Move the galette from the tray and baking paper and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Invite your friends and family to the table
Cut your galette into even slices for everyone
Eat with caution…

Enjoy!

Pastry perfection. The delicate, flaky pastry with pistachio lemon almond creme is absolutely divine.

Retro recipe. A recipe card lift-out published in 1972 for the Galette des Rois

Tags: cake of kings, Food & Wine Photography, french christmas cake, french christmas pastry, galette des rois, gontran cherrier galette, gontran cherrier recipe, kings cake, traditional french pastry christmas

Comments 5 Comments
Categories France Culture, Paris, Seasonal food recipes

La petite cuisine à Paris. Paris private dining for two chez Rachel Khoo

12 Jan

I love meeting cool people doing cool new things. Recently I was a guest at the first of many private dining experiences to come at ‘La petite cuisine à Paris’ (literally ‘The little Paris kitchen’) a unique new project by the talented British, now Paris-based culinary creative Rachel Khoo.

After packing up and leaving a fashion career in London to study Pâtisserie at the world-renown Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Rachel began by baking sweet treats at Paris’ specialty cookery bookstore, La Cocotte. Four years on, she now jets around Europe cooking and catering for prestigious events, launches and private parties. In between all of this, she has also found the time to knock out 2 wonderful cookbooks in French: Pâtes à tartiner and Barres de céréales: Muesli & granola.

‘The little Paris kitchen’ is the now the delicious testing ground for her next recipe book where she will be developing and perfecting all her recipes to go in the publication. “La Petite Cuisine” is her first English publication and is due for release in Spring 2012. The concept is simple and is sure to fill a growing craving for simple, modern, uncomplicated recipes that reinterpret traditional cooking techniques and traditions from the godmothers of French cuisine such as Elizabeth David and Julia Child. Rachel Khoo’s goal is to “Make French food fun.”

What better way to start than to invite people, two at a time for a memorable, delectable experience as taste-testers in her private kitchen where all her culinary creations are made with the ingredients sources at her local produce markets, fromagerie and favorite specialty stores and boulangeries.

Update as of March 19th, 2012. Rachel Khoo now appears on BBC two at 8.30pm Monday evenings UK time. The Paris “Test Kitchen” is therefore no longer open but you can get your fix of Rachel Khoo and her delightful recipes and tiny kithen on TV and through her new book. Enjoy!

So… back to LE FOOD! Well Rachel cooked up a delicious storm in a teacup in her tiny Paris kitchen for myself and other lucky guest- the fabulous Amy Thomas from the super godiloveparis blog.

Le Menu:

Entrees:
Creamy bèchamel cauliflower gratin with a hazelnut crumbs

Mains:
Sticky lemon & lavender roast chicken

Dessert:
Baked apples with a sweet spiced bèchamel sauce

Bread: From Du Pain et des idées in Paris’ 10eme. This stuff is dangerously good bread by the way- still warm and fresh out of the oven when it landed on the table- it took some serious restraint for me to stop eating it! Oh the simple pleasures…

Now of course, this post would not be complete without a recipe! Rachel’s menu was based around making the perfect béchamel, and what I loved about her approach was that the same base for this sauce called the “Roux” can be used to make both a sweet or savory sauce- depending on the seasonings and aromatics you use.

For a savoury sauce– follow the standard Bèchamel formula (here is a good recipe for a classic béchamel sauce) and add a combination of classic aromatics such as:

Onion
Bayleaf
Clove
Nutmeg

Rachel also suggests:

Saffron, orange zest, turmeric or cumin

For a sweet sauce or alternative to crème anglaise:

Simply leave out the salt and savoury additions above, and sweeten with sugar to taste, adding fresh vanilla seeds and optional spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg.

Here are Rachel’s top three tips for the perfect bèchamel:

1. Use whole milk. Semi or skimmed just won’t give you that rich creamy taste.

2. When you add your milk to the roux (flour and butter thickener) make sure to do it a slow, gradual stream and then whisk, whisk and whisk!

3. Classic bèchamel aromatics are: onion, bayleaf and clove but feel free to experiment with non traditional flavours such as saffron and orange zest or tumeric and cumin.

Bonne Bèchamel!