For many families in continental Europe, Christmas ends not with an intense food coma at around 5 pm on December 25, but with a feast and a special celebration on January 6, a Christian holiday known as the Epiphany. Also called Little Christmas or, more commonly Three Kings Day, January 6 is a time for feasting and finally taking down those Christmas decorations (unless you’re planning on leaving them up until March, of course).
In France, the Epiphany has come to be associated with a very special dessert – galette des rois, known in English as Epiphany cake or the cake of kings. It’s basically everything you want in a Christmas dessert: a flaky puff pastry cake filled with frangipane and – if made correctly – a special charm, or la fève, hidden deep inside a slice. Whoever ends up with la fève is king or queen for a day (each cake comes with a paper crown), provided they haven’t broken a tooth, that is.
In Northern France and Belgium, Epiphany cake takes on the form of a galette – a round, flat free-form cake; in the south, the south-west and Provence it’s called the gâteau des rois, and resembles a round brioche cake. In New Orleans, Louisiana-style king cakes are a delicious symbol of the Carnival season, eaten in abundance to celebrate the Mardi Gras. What started as a Christian tradition has become an intercontinental early January phenomenon.
The Epiphany cake tradition dates back hundreds of years, when the charm was a dried broad bean and traditionally the youngest person – the most innocent and the least likely to cheat – would hide under the table and, unable to see the cake, would give directions on which person should receive each slice (so the prize would be awarded fairly).
It’s basically everything you want in a Christmas dessert: a flaky puff pastry cake filled with frangipane and – if made correctly – a special charm, or la fève, hidden deep inside a slice.
Fast forward 700 years, and galette des rois has mostly moved away from its religious roots, both in France and abroad in countries like Australia.
“These days it doesn’t have anything to with Christianity necessarily,” says Dominique Le Breton from Le Breton Pâtisserie in Sydney's Mosman. “Everybody’s enjoying it, and it doesn’t really have anything to do with the Biblical story of the Three Wise Men.”
Le Breton, who starts baking galette des rois just before Christmas each year, has noticed a rise in popularity among Australians over recent years. He puts it down to the moist frangipane and the overall flavour: “It’s a really nice thing to have with a glass of champagne,” he says.
Enough said – for French people AND Australians.
The chef still hides a charm in his galette - but they’re a far cry from dried broad beans. Made from porcelain and more recently plastic, the trinket can take on any form – shoes, cars, baby figurines, fruit, rings, buttons, thimbles, the list goes on.
Sniff our your nearest traditional French patisserie next January for a slice of Epiphany cake – you might not win a charm and be crowned king or queen for the day, but you’ll certainly win the party.
