Galette des Rois
- Prep Time: 130 minutes
- Cook Time: 30–45 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 4–6
- Category: Baking; Dish Type; easy; French; Sweet Pies, Pastries & Tarts; Sweet Pies, Pastries and Tarts
Description
This tart, also known as King Cake, is traditionally served in France at New Year’s parties.
Ingredients
Pastry
1 x 500 g roll puff pastry
1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 t (5 ml) water, to glaze
Almond Cream
75 g unsalted butter, softened
75 g icing sugar
75 g ground almonds
1 large organic or free-range egg
1 large organic free-range egg yolk
1 Tbsp (15 ml) dark rum
1 pineapple, peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces
1 Tbsp (15 ml) yellow sugar
Instructions
Pastry
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of about 2 mm. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up the pastry and to prevent shrinkage while cooking.
Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and cut out 2 x 20 cm circles, using a plate or cake tin as a template. Refrigerate for at least another 30 minutes – this helps retain the shape during baking.
Preheat the oven to 180 ºC.
Almond Cream
Whisk the softened butter and the icing sugar to a cream in a large bowl. Gradually mix in the ground almonds, then the egg, egg yolk and rum. Mix until smooth and then place the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Remove the pastry from the fridge and place a round of pastry on the parchment paper.
Spoon the almond cream into the centre of the round and spread with a palette knife, leaving a 4 cm border all around.
Brush the border with some of the egg glaze, but don’t brush the outside edge of the pastry – leave about 2 cm unglazed – as this will prevent it from rising.
Place the second round of pastry neatly on top. Secure the edges by pressing gently. Brush the top of the galette with the egg glaze and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Repeat the glazing process to give a richer colour. Using a sharp, small pairing knife, start scoring from the centre of the pastry to create an attractive pattern. Refrigerate for another 10 minutes.
Remove from the fridge and bake in the oven for 30–45 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot.
