Galette des Rois
Prep Time 30 minutes 
Cook Time 40 minutes 
Servings 8Ingredients
For the frangipane (almond cream)
- 120 gr unsalted butter softened
- 120 gr caster sugar
- 2 egg
- 120 gr ground almonds
- 15 gr plain flour
- 2 drops almond extract optional
For the pastry
- 2 sheets all-butter puff pastry round, about 250g each
- 1 whole dry bean or a porcelain “fève”
For the glaze
- 1 egg yolk beaten with a splash of water
Equipment
Instructions
1. Make the frangipane
- Cream the softened butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the ground almonds, flour (or cornflour), rum, and almond extract if using. Mix until smooth.
2. Prepare the pastry
- Roll out your puff pastry sheets into two circles, about 24–26cm in diameter. Place one circle on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
3. Assemble the galette
- Spread the frangipane evenly onto the pastry, leaving a 2cm border all around. Slip the fève or almond into the filling, ideally near the edge (to avoid slicing into it later). Brush the edge with a little water.Lay the second pastry circle on top. Press the edges to seal, then use the back of a knife to scallop the edge for a decorative finish.
4. Decorate and chill
- Brush the top with the beaten egg yolk (avoid the sides, or the pastry won’t rise properly). With a sharp knife, score the top. If you want to keep it truly classic, go for the rosette pattern, it’s the one you’ll find in most French pâtisseries, and it’s a lovely nod to tradition.How to score the classic rosace:After glazing and chilling your galette, place the tip of a sharp knife at the centre.Draw a gentle arc from the centre out to the edge, curving slightly as you go.Repeat, spacing each arc evenly around the galette, so you end up with a flower-like pattern, usually 8, 10, or 12 “petals.”Take care not to cut through the pastry, just score the surface.Chill the assembled galette in the fridge for 30–60 minutes.
5. Bake
- Preheat your oven to 175°C (fan 160°C). Bake the galette for 40–45 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.
6. Finish (optional)
- For a patisserie-style shine, brush the hot galette with a little sugar syrup as soon as it comes out of the oven.
7. Serve
- Let it cool slightly, then serve just warm or at room temperature. Don’t forget the crown for whoever finds the fève!
Notes
- Use all-butter puff pastry for the best flavour and rise, avoid anything labelled “vegetable fat” or “margarine”, that is not the French way!
- Chilling the assembled galette before baking helps the pastry puff up and hold its shape.
- Leftovers keep well for a day or two, but the pastry is at its crispiest on the day it’s baked.
About this recipe
Who in France doesn’t look forward to Galette des Rois? Everyone goes galette-mad in January, me included. Every bakery, from the smallest village to the grandest Parisian patisserie, has stacks of french king cake in the window. Supermarkets join in too, with everything from mass-produced versions to surprisingly decent own-brand ones. Although obviously nothing tastes as good as one coming out of your own oven.
And then there’s the fève. Everyone wants to be king or queen and have a lucky year, and children and grown adults get equally excited about finding that tiny ceramic figurine hidden inside. That’s the beauty of the galette des rois, it’s simple, playful, and it brings people together in a way that feels very French to me. I can’t think of a single January from my childhood where this french galette didn’t appear on the table.
Where Galette des Rois comes from
The galette des rois is a king cake made from two layers of puff pastry filled with frangipane, a rich almond cream made from butter, sugar, eggs, and ground almonds. Before baking, a fève is hidden inside the filling randomly. Originally this was a dried bean, today it’s usually a small ceramic figurine. Whoever finds it in their slice gets crowned king or queen for the day, usually with the paper crown that comes with every galette from the bakery or supermarket, but you can and should totally make your own, it will be unique!
The french king cake eaten in Paris and most of northern France is this version, puff pastry and frangipane. In the south, particularly in Provence and Languedoc, it takes a completely different form: a brioche-style ring studded with candied fruit and flavoured with orange flower water. Same tradition yet a completely different cake. The north and south have been arguing about which version is correct for centuries, and I say both are right, that way I can enjoy two different flavours instead of one!
The history behind the king’s cake
The galette des rois is eaten on or around the 6th of January, the Feast of the Epiphany, which marks the arrival of the Three Kings at the nativity. But the tradition of hiding something in a cake to crown a king for the day is actually older than Christianity, with roots in Roman Saturnalia celebrations where a bean hidden in bread decided who got to be treated as king during the festival.
The Church absorbed the tradition and attached it to Epiphany, and French bakers have been making this king’s cake in one form or another ever since. The frangipane filling became standard in Paris in the 17th century when almond cream became fashionable in French patisserie. And the decorative scoring on top, that distinctive leaf or spiral pattern you see on every galette des rois, developed as a way for bakers to identify their own work and has been part of the cake’s identity ever since.
More about the tradition in this article >
Making a proper french galette at home
The key to a good galette des rois is the frangipane. It needs to be made with good ground almonds, quality French butter, and enough egg to bind it without making it too dense. After baking it should be rich and moist inside, not dry or grainy. If it’s dry, the butter ratio was off or it overbaked.
The puff pastry needs to be very cold before it goes in the oven. Warm pastry loses its layers and gives you something dense and heavy instead of those light, shatteringly crispy layers that make this french galette so worth making. Keep everything cold until the last possible moment.
The fève goes in before the second layer of pastry goes on top, pressed gently into the frangipane away from the centre. In the centre means it’ll end up in the first slice cut.
How to bake your king cake
You’re looking for a flat, even baking surface that gives the galette des rois a crisp base and an even rise. The best combo is a stainless steel baking tray with a perforated baking mat on top. The heavy steel tray conducts heat directly and evenly to the base of the pastry from the moment it goes in the oven, and the baking mat prevents sticking and distributes heat evenly across the base. Together they will give you a perfect result!
How to eat Galette des Rois
In French families, the youngest child traditionally goes under the table during the cutting and calls out who each slice goes to, so nobody can see where the fève might be and choose accordingly. The person who finds it wears the paper crown and picks their king or queen. It sounds slightly absurd described like this but it’s so much fun!
Share your feedback and spread the love!
If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turns out! Leave a ★★★★★ rating and your thoughts in the comments, it helps fellow French foodies discover this recipe too. Snap a photo and tag @obviously.french on Instagram. Come talk about it in our Facebook group. And don’t forget to save this recipe to Pinterest so you’ll always have it handy for your next French-inspired meal!
Disclosure: Just so you know, this post contains sponsored content and/or affiliate links, If you make a purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission. Doesn’t cost you anything extra. I only link to things that are actually worth your time. All opinions are my own!
