January wouldn’t be January in France without a Galette des Rois or two (or ten!). They are eaten throughout the month of January, until they finally disappear once February arrives only to resurface again near the end of December the following year.

A lof of people believe they are called the kings cake to celebrate the Wise Kings arrival at the stable on January 6th but apparently the actual reason goes back to a roman celebration. At the time, to celebrate the winter solstice, families would have a ‘raffle’ to pick a king who would be King of the household for the day. Even the servants could take part and if they won, could end up bossing their employer around for the day.

The Galette des Rois below with puff pastry and almond filling is common all over the north of France, but in the south of France their ‘galette’ is a completely different cake made with a ring of brioche and candied fruit.

The ‘fève’ is a small trinket (the french word fève actually means a broad bean which is what used to be put in the cake), usually a small porcelain figurine. We’ve had minions and star wars characters this year 🙂

In France the tradition is that the youngest member of the household goes under the kitchen table while the ‘galette’ is being cut and calls out the names of those present as each slice is served up. Whoever finds the fève is the king – or queen!

Ingredients :

• 400g ready-made puff pastry (of course you can make your own but it’s the only pastry I don’t make myself!)
• 100 g ground almonds
• 75 g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 50g of softened butter
• A few drops of almond essence
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 “fève” !

Method :

1. Roll out half the pastry into a circle and prick with a fork
2. In a bowl mix all the ingredients together – the ground almonds, sugar, softened butter, egg and almond essence
3. Spread the mixture over the pastry and place the fève on it
4. Brush the edges of the pastry with water, then cover with the second half of the pastry, pressing the edges to seal
5. Using a fork or knife to create a design on top
6. Brush with the beaten egg yolk
7. Bake in oven for 30 minutes until nice and golden

A breton galette is a large, thin pancake from the Brittany region made with buckwheat flour, usually with a savoury filling – also known in France as a “galette complète” (or complete galette). Here in France you can buy ready-made galettes to which you can add your filling but you can also make your own easily enough.

One word of warning with the buckwheat flour – it has a very short shelf-life so you need to use it fairly quickly after buying – I have been caught out before!

Ingredients :

For the galette 

• 330 g buckwheat flour
• 75 cl water
• 10 g coarse salt
• 1 egg
• Butter

For the filling (per person)

• 1 egg
• Slice of ham
• Grated cheese

Method :

For the galette

1. Add the salt to the flour in a large bowl
2. Make a well in the flour and very slowly add the water mixing energetically all the time with a wooden spoon to obtain a thick liquid batter
3. Add the egg and mix well
4. Leave the batter in the fridge to rest for at least 2 hours

For the breton galette

1. Heat a large pan and add some butter
2. Add a ladle of the batter and move it around to completely cover the bottom of the pan
3. Cook both sides of the galette for 1-2 minutes each side
4. Add your grated cheese and then the sliced ham leaving a space in the middle for the egg
5. Add your egg in the middle of the galette (if you want a well cooked egg you might want to fry it in a separate pan and add once cooked)
6. Once the egg turns white you can fold in each side of the crepe leaving just enough space for the egg yolk.

*You can always chop and change the ingredients with mushrooms, bacon, tomatoes etc.