Easy recipe for galette des Rois, when to eat it?

EPIPHANY. Galette des Rois takes place on French tables this Friday, January 6, 2023. But fortunately, the date rule is not that strict. Linternaute brings you the best frangipane galette recipe.

[Mis à jour le 6 janvier 2023 à 12h00] Epiphany, also called the “Day of the Kings,” falls on Friday, January 6, 2023. If you decide to honor the original date, now with frangipane or other flavors (chocolate, pistachio, apple, etc.) For those who are not ready to eat the caloric cake tonight, the reformation has rearranged the history of the galette des Rois so that everyone can enjoy it on Sunday let him know. Kings Cake can thus be eaten this Sunday, January 8, the second Sunday after Christmas.

The original recipe for galette des rois is not as complicated as it seems : sour cream, frangipane, sugar, butter and ground almonds and you’re done. Some brave people will add chocolate, apple or coconut, while others will still prefer a brioche galette decorated with candied fruit. In our file below, you will find the best galette recipes, from classic frangipane to regional recipes, and you will know everything about the origin of this cake, the beans associated with it and the Christian celebration of Epiphany.

A modern Galette des Rois recipe, with frangipane, may intimidate the less adventurous in the kitchen. However, it is very simple. it’scombine the yogurt dough with frangipane, in other words, a mixture of pastry cream, butter, sugar and ground almonds. It’s your turn:

Before discussing the galette des rois recipe, you still need to know which galette des rois to choose. Nowadays, puff pastry and frangipane galetta seem to have taken hold in the collective imagination. But is the original galette des rois frangipane, brioche or candied fruitcake? Originally, galettes des rois were simple breads that were used as beans. But gradually, several regions added their own characteristics to this dough.

Brioche, which is still used in many regions, especially the south of France, would therefore be the most traditional form of galette des rois, as it is the closest to bread. In the north, but also in Provence and Languedoc, it became the “cake of kings”, covered with sugar and candied fruit. Frangipane was born in the 17th century at the initiative of Anne of Austria and her son Louis XIV. Thus, the pastry would be born in Paris, where it would be nicknamed “Parisian”. Today, galette des rois, consumed by 85% of French people, is mainly bought with frangipane (80%).. Therefore, several recipes for Galettes des Rois compete with each other, although the one with frangipane is the favorite among Galettes des Rois.

What is the date of Epiphany in 2023?
When will you eat galette des rois in 2023? It all depends on whether you decide to follow the tradition carefully. Epiphany is traditionally set on January 6 in the Christian calendar, twelve days after the birth of Jesus according to the Roman liturgy. January 6 regularly falls in the middle of the week (Friday in 2023 this year) after the oath. good yearthe reformation, however, moved the date to the second Sunday after Christmas, that is, almost systematically from January 1 to the first Sunday.. Galette des rois can therefore be cut on this date, at least in countries without a public holiday dedicated to Epiphany. But rest assured, bakery and confectionery shops will not stop soon and this Sunday, January 8th, and you can taste the galette des rois until at least mid-January !

In the Christian imagination, the galette des rois refers to the three wise men. guided by a star, he went to Bethlehem to meditate in front of the manger where Jesus was to be born and presented precious gifts to the child. But looking at the question, we quickly learn that Epiphany (or its equivalent) was celebrated long before the advent of Christianity.

First of all, we are talking about a golden, round-shaped cake, the image of which recalls the sun and therefore the cult of Saturnalia, which is associated with the solstice in winter as well as in summer. During these 7-day celebrations, excesses were allowed and it was customary to offer cakes to those around. A tradition that became the “cake of kings” in the Middle Ages. For some, the name also came from the royalties that had to be paid to their master. Royalty was usually accompanied by cake.

As for the fève, it would have predated the galette as it dates back to the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, it was customary to cast lots for the king of the banquet using a black or white token. It is also said that in the Saturnalia a king was chosen from among the soldiers of the garrison, or in this way in the family, and thus he could fulfill all his wishes and order all he wanted in one day. A legend also tells of another origin of the bean: the legend of Peau d’âne, inspired by the tale of Charles Perrault. That’s why a donkey skin may have inspired this strange custom of forgetting a ring on a cake meant for a princess.

Finally, The tradition of sending the youngest of the guests under the table to determine who gets each piece of galette would come at the same time. Even during the Saturnalia, the master of the house actually asked the youngest of the family, the one who was supposed to be the most innocent, to determine to which guest he would distribute the share he held. The child is then usually nicknamed Phoebe (for “Phœbus” or “Apollo”), referring to the priestess of Apollo.

Epiphany is the result of a long tradition, dating back long before the birth of Jesus, and arising from a mixture of pagan and Christian traditions (as for Candlemas). Initially, it was a matter of celebrating the god Dionysus in antiquity. Dionysus, the god of grapes, wine, and revelry and excess in Greek mythology, is closely associated with the seasons and therefore the cycles of vegetation. A midwinter feast in his honor and, together with the winter solstice, symbolized his resurrection, the return of light, and thus the rebirth of this vegetation.

To explain the origin of Epiphany, we also mention the pagan festival called “Saturnalia”. as called in connection with the solstice. This time it was the god Saturn who was celebrated by the Romans. An era associated with agriculture and seed production, this deity remains relatively mysterious, especially because of the sickle he holds in his right hand. Having “slept” for a large part of the year, it was reborn among the Romans in the heart of winter, in the “twilight of the year”, that is, this time in the period before the winter solstice. It would further symbolize the protection of family and the “bonds” of the city.

In the 4th century in the first Christian communities of the East, people began to associate this holiday with the period after the birth of Jesus. Epiphany is born and corresponds to “manifestation” in ancient Greek. In other words: After celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmas, Christians will begin to celebrate the “messiah,” the providential character he represents. Therefore, we must look for the signs of this Messiah, the first manifestations that confirm the Messiah. At the beginning of Christianity, there are three of them: some mention the first miracle of Jesus at the wedding in Cana, others speak of his baptism in the water of Jordan, but the closest to his birth is his first “manifestation”. the holy character is quickly associated with the search and adoration of the Magi, who recognized Christ shortly after his birth.

January 6, 12 days after Christmas, thus becomes the first holy feast of the liturgical calendar. In the West, Epiphany will gradually adopt ancient Roman and pagan traditions, and we will gradually gather around a cake to celebrate it. However, the reception of the galette des rois was not easy : Lutherans, Calvinists, and even some Catholics rejected this pagan custom for a time. In 1664, the canon of Senlis emphasized in his speeches that galet was against the slightly more festive side.