Galette des Rois

In case you haven't noticed, I've just discovered the delights of almond meal. This cake is essentially an eggy almond croissant cake; can you really go wrong with that?

Galette des rois is a traditional cake for L'Epiphanie. For the holiday, you hide a "feve" in the cake (either a dried bean or a small porcelain figure) and whoever gets the slice with the hidden feve is "king" (or queen) for the day. Just make sure you tell people eating the cake to look out so there are no broken teeth!

I also just discovered, after spending an arm and a leg on almond meal at the grocery store, that you can buy a huge bag for $4 at Trader Joe's! Speaking of epiphanies...

Just make sure you seal it REALLY well, or it will leak. Badly. Not that that ever happened to this domestic goddess, of course...



Ingredients

2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed
7 T. butter
5/8 cup sugar
almost 3/4 cup almond meal
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 eggs (plus 1 egg yolk for egg wash)
great big pinch of salt
confectioner's sugar for dusting
orange zest or drop of orange flower extract (optional)

Directions

1. Make your filling by creaming butter and sugar together (you can let the butter sit at room temperature or be lazy and microwave for 12 seconds. Or you can be REALLY lazy and use a mixer).

2. Once it's a consistent texture, add almond meal, almond extract, 2 eggs, salt, and orange stuff if you've got it and mix until well blended.

3. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 (or whatever the directions on your puff pastry say).

4. Take out puff pastry, being careful not to stretch it and, using a plate or some other round object, cut out 2 equal sized circles of puff pastry.

5. Spread filling onto one pastry, leaving a 1-inch border. If you're going to include a feve, put it in the filling now.

6. Beat together egg yolk with a little bit of milk or water, and brush along the border, being careful not to let it on the sides.

7. Top with second sheet of puff pastry, and press down with your fingers along the edges to seal. Seal it well, my friend! Avoid a baking disaster like mine :(

8. Make shallow slashes along the top of the cake and pierce a few holes to allow it to rise.

9. Cover with the rest of the egg wash.

10. Pop in the oven for about 20 minutes (should get nice and puffy). Pull out and sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Place back into the oven until nicely browned (about another 10 minutes).