Galette des rois

Good Food Blog

What is RSS?

Posted at 12:45PM, 03 January 2008 by Mary Cadogan - Food writer

Every celebration that takes place here in the Charente seems to be an excuse to have something to eat or drink. Midsummer's day? Let's sell crepes in the village square. Grape harvest? How about a huge meal followed by dancing and singing into the night? Christmas market? All that buying, selling and general chatter is tiring so we must all stop at midday for a glass of vin chaud (mulled wine) before heading off for a special four course lunch at the local bar.

And as we recover from New Year's Eve, the biggest celebration of the year at which it is customary to consume vast quantities of oysters and foie gras washed down with lashings of champagne, we still have Twelfth Night to look forward to. This is when the Galette des rois (Cake of kings) is traditionally eaten and enjoyed by everyone, although this delicious treat is on sale in every boulangerie throughout December and January.

The recipes vary depending on where you live and versions are made all over Europe. Here we have two types, the brioche baked in a ring and decorated with candied fruits and the puff pastry pie filled with frangipane which is easy to make. I love the brioche one for breakfast with a steaming cup of hot chocolate, then the puff pastry one fits in nicely for dessert.

Each cake comes in a bag with a paper crown and trinkets baked into it. There's even a ritual to serving it. The order of serving is dictated by the youngest present calling out names while hiding under the table. The one who finds a king in their slice is crowned king for the day and the one who gets the bean has to pay for the cake or buy the next one. Bonne année a tous!

Comments

Amanda Burrell

4 January 2008, 7:43AM
Amanda Burrell

I know Mary is a wonderful food writer and I have enjoyed all her articles in the GF Mag but can she also see into the future? I think some gremlins have been at the date!

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
issie1414

4 January 2008, 9:34AM
issie1414

I love Mary's articles on living and cooking in France This was written by her for last year? I think she is now in her 5 years of living in France Happy New Year for 2008 Going to miss your articles on France Mary

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
Rachel

4 January 2008, 2:02PM
Rachel

I have lived in France for many years, and love the country and the people, and that is why I find Mary Cagogan's articles patronising and foolish. Does she really live in modern France, or some fantasy land she has invented. Move on Good Food, this is certainly a France that neither I or my French neighbours recognise.

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
issie1414

4 January 2008, 4:54PM
issie1414

Sorry Rachel I have also lived in France for many years and love Mary's articles, so much so that my Good Food Magazine gets passed around all my freinds as soon as I have read it and even so much so that our local ladies group now photo copies her article and puts it up on the notice board in the hall, it has now gone so far as to be translated into French for all our French ladies on our group. So there are some of us Brits in France who do read and like it Mary's advice and recipes. It's such a shame that she is going to stop! Maybe we will see her on the French Property Living Site or maybe even in our local Etcetera Magazine. I hope so. And the article on Galette des rois in this months issue, is brilliant, they have been in our local Patisserie all week and I think it has explained to the brits exactly what they represent.

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
Kelvin

7 January 2008, 2:22PM
Kelvin

It is charming to see people celebrating the festive season, I think it is essential that all local traditions are upheld whereever you live. Long live Christmas

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
Susana

7 February 2008, 7:46PM
Susana

Hear, hear, kelvin. I live in the south of Spain (I'm Spanish, my husband is English) and every year we celebrate "Three Kings day" with our "Roscon de Reyes" for breakfast. Our kids love the tradition of buying it just after the kings parade on the night of the 5th. And the big ceremony of my youngest cutting the cake to find the porcelain king! The smile on her face is priceless! and the laughs i got when I got the bean in my piece! It was nice to read that they do the same thing in France. I find Mary's articles paint a very bucolic picture of France, but people here in the continent do follow traditions and cook within the seasons quite religiously, especially in small villages. i quite like her articles, it would be boring if she gave us an account of her shopping in her local Carrefour, which she will probably, no doubt will regularly visit!

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
Lettucia

6 July 2008, 8:22PM
Lettucia

This is a funny discussion. I'm French and come from the region where Mary lives, and the articles are absolutely spot on. It is sometimes funny to read that some of our traditions seem so exotic, but I guess that's what it's like when you go someplace new. I think the big error many people make is to think French people have the same lifestyle no matter where in France they are. If you live in Paris your daily life will be completely different than if you live in a small village in the South, and completely different from another region too. I'm sure you have the same differences in the UK, we have them too!

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
Carol A.

14 January 2009, 6:16PM
Carol A.

I loved reading Mary's articles on France, especially since our daughter was there for school year until June of this year. Canada is such a cultural mosaic and we willingly weave into our celebrations traditions that may originate elsewhere but have a special meaning to us. Our daughter brought home many recipes but the one that was added to our celebrations for Christmas was the Galette des rois, complete with the small figurines inside that she has collected at France's Christmas markets. Her family here enjoyed them immensely and it provided her with a creative way of acknowledging the impact the country, and in particular her host family, had made.

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
Le Montmartre

24 December 2010, 8:34AM
Le Montmartre

Hello! You can now order your galette des rois in London and pick it up at Le Montmartre on 46 Fleet street. See their special website on www.galettedesrois.co.uk Cheers

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons to sign up:

You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.
You can add your own recipes to this site for others to try; plus, rate and make comments on recipes, and share your views on our blog.
You can sign up for our weekly newsletter (sent out on Wednesdays) - it's packed with recipes, special offers and competitions.