That’s it, I’ve decided: I’m making homemade puff pastry. It’s a bit of work but nothing too difficult (I’ve already made puff pastry for croissants and pains au chocolat). This time though, I’m going for an inverse puff pastry, which is better suited to making a galette. You’ll find the step-by-step recipe here. I have absolutely no regrets, what a treat! The pastry literally melts in the mouth, it’s excellent!
Edit of 5/01/20: I had the chance to make a galette des rois with frangipane again, following a new recipe, and it was a real delight. The best I’ve eaten so far. I followed Christophe Felder’s recipe for the inverse puff pastry but also for the frangipane cream (even though I made a few little personal additions). I’m taking the opportunity to publish new photos, far more tempting than the previous ones, with this magnificent flaky pastry <3
Ingredients & preparation
4 components · Full recipe
Pastry Cream (you’ll have some left over, but you can make another galette)
Ingredients
- 125 g (4.4 oz) whole milk (preferably)
- 30 g (1.1 oz) sugar
- 30 g (1.1 oz) egg yolks (about 2 yolks)
- 12 g (0.4 oz) cornstarch
- 12 g (0.4 oz) butter
- 1/2 vanilla bean
Instructions
1
In a small saucepan, heat the milk with the split and scraped half vanilla bean and half the sugar.
2
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar until the mixture turns pale.
3
Add the cornstarch and mix.
4
Pour half the hot milk in a thin stream while whisking continuously to temper the cream. Pour everything back into the saucepan.
5
Whisk over medium heat until the cream thickens, about 2 minutes.
6
Transfer to a dish and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface. Cool quickly (the faster it cools, the longer the pastry cream will keep).
Almond Cream
Ingredients
- 65 g (2.3 oz) caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 65 g (2.3 oz) almond flour
- 65 g (2.3 oz) softened butter
- 5 g (0.2 oz) cornstarch (personal addition)
- 5 g (0.2 oz) kirsch (optional)
- 1–2 drops bitter almond extract (personal addition, to taste)
- 1 pinch of fleur de sel (personal addition)
Instructions
1
Place the room-temperature butter in a mixing bowl and work it first with a spatula to soften it, then finish with a whisk until smooth and creamy.
2
Add the egg and mix with the whisk.
3
Add the caster sugar, kirsch, almond flour, bitter almond extract, and fleur de sel.
4
Mix with a spatula until smooth, but don’t over-whisk. Refrigerate until needed.
Almond Frangipane Cream
Ingredients
- the almond cream from above
- 65 g (2.3 oz) pastry cream
Instructions
1
In a mixing bowl, smooth the cooled pastry cream with a whisk.
2
Fold in the almond cream and mix quickly. If you whisk the frangipane too long, it will puff up during baking.
3
Transfer the frangipane cream into a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm (0.4 in) plain tip. Refrigerate until assembly.
Assembling the Frangipane King Cake
Ingredients
- 2 rounds of inverted puff pastry, 250–300 g (10.6 oz) per piece (or 2 store-bought puff pastry sheets)
- the almond frangipane cream
- sugar syrup
- 1 lucky charm (fève)
Instructions
1
Remove the king cake and flip it over, flat side up (the domed side is in contact with the parchment paper).
2
Mix one egg yolk with a very small amount of heavy cream (10% of the yolk’s weight in cream).
3
Brush the top of the galette with egg wash for the first time, then refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Brush again and refrigerate while preheating the oven.
4
Be sure not to brush egg wash on the edges of the galette, as this would prevent the pastry from puffing up properly.
5
Cut out 2 rounds of inverted puff pastry, 24 cm (9.4 in) in diameter.
6
Place one pastry round on a sheet of parchment paper set on a baking sheet (this will make it much easier to move later).
7
Pipe the frangipane in a circle starting from the center of the galette, leaving about 3 cm (1.2 in) free around the edge.
8
Place the lucky charm (fève) toward the outer edge.
9
Using a pastry brush, lightly moisten the edge of the galette with a little water (the part without frangipane).
10
Carefully cover with the second pastry round, aligning the two pieces properly.
11
Press the two pastry rounds together gently, making sure the frangipane is pushed toward the center. You can crimp the edges with the back of a knife to prevent the galette from opening during baking (score all around the edge with the back of a small knife). I now try to skip this step for a more elegant appearance (the layers won’t be marked), but there is a bit of risk either way ? Refrigerate the galette for at least 1 hour. This allows the two pastry rounds to seal properly. Ideally, wrap the galette and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
12
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
13
Remove the galette from the refrigerator and pierce a hole right in the center to let steam escape. Make a few additional holes here and there (use the score lines so they blend in).
14
Decorate the top of the galette using the back of a knife, starting from the center hole.
15
Bake the galette for about 35–40 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 160°C / 325°F and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Watch carefully during the last few minutes to prevent over-browning.
16
While the galette is baking, prepare a sugar syrup (boil 20 g (0.7 oz) water and 20 g (0.7 oz) sugar in a saucepan, then let cool).
17
As soon as it comes out of the oven, brush the top of the galette with the syrup and let it cool on a wire rack.
Gallery
