New
Year is one of the oldest and most observed celebrations in countries all over
the world and France is no exception!
New Year's Eve is a great opportunity for families and friends to dine
together once again at Le Réveillon
or Fête de Saint-Sylvestre. At
midnight streets fill with everyone moving outside to continue the celebration.
In the Midi Pyrenees, where I live, the local tradition is to attend evening
mass and then follow a procession to the vineyards and pick grapes at midnight. It’s
a fond A pleasant farewell to the old year and a grand welcome to the New Year
with a hope of success, prosperity, happiness, and peace in the coming year.
New Year celebrations go on till the 6th January of the New
Year which is Twelfth Night and it’s
celebrated with King's cake (la galette des rois)
which consists of a puff pastry case filled with frangipane. Frangipane is made
with eggs, sugar, butter and ground almonds. The cakes are sold with a paper
crown on top. A dried bean, small coin or ceramic figure is hidden in the
filling. The person who finds the bean, coin or figure in their portion is
'king' for the day and wears the paper crown.
Below is a simple recipe to make
your own Galette des Roi which makes
about 12 slices:-
Prep
Time: 20 minutes
Cook
Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
Almond
cream filling:
1/2
cup ground almond meal
1/4
cup granulated sugar
1
egg
3
tablespoons butter, softened
3/4
teaspoon vanilla extract
1
tablespoon all-purpose flour
Cake:
1
17-ounce package puff pastry, thawed
1
batch homemade frangipane
1
egg, beaten
1
dried fava bean (optional)
2
tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Preparation:
How to make
almond cream filling:
Using
a food processor, combine the first six ingredients until a smooth, creamy
paste is formed.
How to make
galette des rois:
Preheat
the oven to 425F.
Roll
out the sheets of puff pastry and cut out two 11-inch circles. Place one of the
circles on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spoon the frangipane on the puff
pastry and spread it to within 1 1/2 inches of the edge of the circle.
If
desired, hide the bean in the almond cream filling. Place the second pastry
circle on top of the almond filling, crimping or pressing the edges of the
pastry to seal the cake. Using a sharp knife, score a decorative pattern on the
top layer of the pastry, without cutting through to the almond filling. Brush
the galette des rois with the beaten
egg and bake it for 15 minutes. Dust the cake with the powdered sugar and bake
it for an additional 10 to 12 minutes, until it turns golden brown.
Allow
the cake to cool for 20 minutes on the baking sheet. If desired, top the cake
before serving with a round of gold paper to be used as the "crown"
for the diner who finds le feve, or the bean.
Make
sure to warn your fellow diners to eat carefully if you are taking part in le feve tradition or they may break a
tooth! Cut the galette des rois into
even slices, and crown the one who finds the fava bean as the "king"
or "queen" with the gold paper round atop the cake.
