Yield: 10-12 servings

The origins:

The so-called "Galette of the Kings" is the cake traditionally served for the religious holiday of the Epiphany, through which one celebrates the visit of the Magis (kings) to the child Jésus.

In the Eleventh Century, the canons of the chapter of Besançon meditated to decide on their future leader by hiding a money piece in a bread. Little-by-litte, a few other congregations adopted this custom. The bread itself was transformed into bun, and further "improved" by adding the coin to the dough before baking, varying by region. Thus, one served the fougasse or fougaço in the Languedoc region, A coque in Ariège -- sometimes with preserved fruit as in the Provençal realm or with grains of anise as the garfou of the Béarn area. One found also fouaces or fouées in the Perche area.

The cake served in Bresse was a flamusse made of corn flour, or a "sarrasin."; in Normandy, people served garots. Finally, in the certain Périgord families did not eat the bun, but a dined instead on a large quantity of doughnut-like confections called crépeaux or pâtissous.

The Festival:

The festival derives its name as "the leguminous one" (from a sort of bean) that was originally placed in the galette -- later replaced by a piece of silver, or if you were rich, with a piece of gold. In 1870, the first porcelain "charm" appeared, followed by small plastic objects of miscellaneous characters or icons. Recently saints or even cartoon heroes have appeared in ceramic for this festival. These days, it's far from a strictly religious festival!

Formerly, the festival designated a "King of the day" or "King of the Festival," and the one that the had received the honour had to return the galette on the following Sundays. Thus, the gourmands could get extra treats spread over several weeks or even the whole month of January!

These days:

The South of France seems to have preserved more of the tradition, since the "cake of the Kings" remains most often a "crown briochée," sometimes flavoured with lemon and decorated with preserved fruit, capped with a crown resembling a wheel, as a symbol of the earth and the fields that evokes an ancient agrarian rite: the call of the Spring after the Winter.

Nevertheless, to the picture of this practices, add that of the north of the Loire, where one also enjoys galettes in flaky pastry, replete with frangipane.

Preparation of Galette des Rois with flaky pastry :

Flaky pastry

Ingredients: