Galettes des rois from France (2014)
Whereas in most countries, pastry chefs in January take well-deserved vacations after the Christmas period, in France they keep on working hard!
The famous Galette des rois is the dessert that is sold from the Epiphany till the end of January!
The traditional version of the galette is made of puff pastry with a frangipane cream filling.
Although this galette des rois is popular everywhere in France, another pastry can be found in the south to celebrate the Three Kings: the crown-shaped “Royaume” (Kingdom) or simply “Brioche des rois“, with candied fruits that resemble precious gems.
Both desserts contain a small “fève” or lucky charm: whoever gets it in their slice of cake becomes “king/queen for a day“! 🙂 This gives right to wear the paper crown that is usually sold with the galette, but also the obligation to buy another galette to share with friends and family.
The 2014 fêves by Thierry Mulhaupt
Any bakery in France offers its version of the Epiphany pastries and even the most famous pâtissiers rival in originality to distinguish themselves.
Here are some of the best and most original galettes des rois of France:
Galette des rois by Pierre Hermé: almond cream filling with raspberry, rose and litchees
Galette des rois by Thierry Mulhaupt: raspberry and hibiscus
Galette des rois “King pie” by Christophe Michalak: almond and lemon cream with an unconventional crunchy brick layers instead of puff pastry
Galette des rois by Jean-Paul Hévin: chocolate and green tea
Galette des rois by Lenôtre: frangipane cream
Galette des rois by Maison Angelina: chocolate and candied chestnuts
Galette des rois by Christophe Roussel: litchee, coconut and passion fruit
Galette des rois by Fauchon: chocolate and hazelnuts
Galette by Hugo&Victor: Tahiti vanilla
Hipster galette des rois by Arnaud Delmontel: frangipane cream with lemon and bananas
Galette des rois by Arnaud Larher: bitter almond, pistachio gianduja and sugar-coated almonds
Brioche des rois by Cyril Lignac
(All pictures taken from the chefs’ Facebook pages and from Elle.fr)
