Galette des Rois - Puff Pastry with Almond Cream Center
Galette des Rios or "Kings Cake" is a classic French pastry that was traditionally shared at Epiphany on January 6th to celebrate the arrival of the Three Wise Men in Bethlehem. However, you will find that this delightful creation combining buttery, crispy, flakey puff pastry with a creamy rich almond filling is served year round. If you choose to make your own puff pastry, it takes a bit more time and skill, but with store bought puff pastry it's quite simple. This is a fantastic after dinner dessert, good after lunch, wonderful with coffee for breakfast, or actually at any time. It's best when it's still a bit warm from the oven. However, if there is any left for the following day, I suggest warming it bit in the oven to re-crisp the pastry. Prep time was based on using pre-made puff pastry.
Ingredients
- 2 9" rounds of puff pastry
- 3/4 cup almond meal (80g)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (67g)
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter (86g)
- 1/2 cup almond paste (110g)
- 1 grade "A" large egg
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour (20g)
- 1 tbsp orange zest (6g)
- 1 egg beaten with 2 teaspoons milk for pastry wash
Instructions
THE PREP
- 1. Preheat your over to 350° for Convection and 375° for Standard.2. Roll out two circles of puff pastry. One should be 9" in diameter and the second (the top portion) should be slightly larger. Place the two pieces in the refrigerator to chill.
- NOTES: If you find it difficult to create a nice, even circle, simply place a 9" cake pan or the bottom of a 9" springform pan on top of the dough and use a sharp knife to cut around the edge. Keep the cut edges of the puff pastry for another use. You can cut them into strips, wash the tops with a bit of egg wash, roll in cinnamon and sugar or parmesan cheese and bake them. Tasty little treat and nothing is wasted.
THE FILLING
- Add the almond meal, almond paste, sugar, egg, butter, flour and orange zest to a mixing bowl. Mix together until a smooth paste is formed. NOTE: Trader Joe's has a very good almond meal at a very good price. Almond meal, as opposed to almond flour in a coarser grind and often is ground with the skin on, rather than from blanched almonds. You can easily make your own almond meal by finely grinding toasted almonds in a blender or your food processor.
ASSEMBLING
- Place the bottom piece of pastry on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Use a soft pastry brush to lightly coat the entire surface of the bottom piece of puff pastry with the egg wash. Do not let the egg wash drip over the cut edges of the pastry as this interferes with the rising of the dough during baking. Scoop the almond filling onto the center of the pastry and spread the filling evenly in a circle leaving a 1" to 1 1/2" boarder. Gently drape the slightly larger piece of pastry over the top and lightly press to seal the two pieces of pastry together around the perimeter.
- Now, brush the surface with the egg wash, being careful to not let it drip over the edges. Dripping over the edges hampers those edges of puff pasty from rising.
- Using the tip of a small, very sharp knife cut a pattern across the top. Do not cut completely through the dough.
- At this point, the pastry has warmed a bit, and it's best to refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to allow the butter to firm a bit. After the 20 minutes place on the middle rack of your preheated oven and bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until it is a rich golden brown and the puff pastry has puffed showing its crispy layers.
- This is best eaten warm. If you happen to have some left over, reheat in a 325° oven for about 10 minutes. This heating will "re-crisp" the pastry and it will be just as delicious as it was straight from the oven.