Galette des Rois

This tart, also known as King Cake, is traditionally served in France at New Year’s parties.

📝 Ingredients

• 1 x 500 g roll puff pastry
• 1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 t (5 ml) water, to glaze
• 75 g unsalted butter, softened
• 75 g icing sugar
• 75 g ground almonds
• 1 large organic or free-range egg
• 1 large organic free-range egg yolk
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) dark rum
• 1 pineapple, peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) yellow sugar

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Pastry ---
2. 2On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of about 2 mm. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up the pastry and to prevent shrinkage while cooking.
3. 3Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and cut out 2 x 20 cm circles, using a plate or cake tin as a template. Refrigerate for at least another 30 minutes – this helps retain the shape during baking.
4. 4Preheat the oven to 180 ºC.
5. 5--- Almond Cream ---
6. 6Whisk the softened butter and the icing sugar to a cream in a large bowl. Gradually mix in the ground almonds, then the egg, egg yolk and rum. Mix until smooth and then place the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes.
7. 7Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Remove the pastry from the fridge and place a round of pastry on the parchment paper.
8. 8Spoon the almond cream into the centre of the round and spread with a palette knife, leaving a 4 cm border all around.
9. 9Brush the border with some of the egg glaze, but don’t brush the outside edge of the pastry – leave about 2 cm unglazed – as this will prevent it from rising.
10. 10Place the second round of pastry neatly on top. Secure the edges by pressing gently. Brush the top of the galette with the egg glaze and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
11. 11Repeat the glazing process to give a richer colour. Using a sharp, small pairing knife, start scoring from the centre of the pastry to create an attractive pattern. Refrigerate for another 10 minutes.
12. 12Remove from the fridge and bake in the oven for 30–45 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot.