The Galette des rois with cocoa is a traditional French dessert for Epiphany, although the basic version is white, but I chose to add cocoa.
It’s a dessert that definitely takes more to explain than to make. I intended to make it for several years, but each year I ended up making Christmas recipes and didn’t prepare anything for the Epiphany.
Mine turned out slightly larger in diameter because the pastry I bought was a bit big, but generally the diameter is for a pan of about 10 inches.
The tradition is to hide an almond and another nut inside the cake, and whoever finds it gets to be the King for a day wearing a crown.
Often, behind traditional Epiphany recipes, these traditions are hidden, the most common is to hide a nut or a coin inside the dessert.
Make this simple but really good dessert and you’ll tell me!
If you make one of my recipes, send me the photo if you like and I will put it on my fb page in your name.
Kcal about 340 per slice
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 12 slices
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Winter, Epiphany
Ingredients for making the Galette des rois with cocoa
- 2 rolls puff pastry (round)
- 3.9 oz almond flour
- 3.5 oz butter
- 2.8 oz sugar
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 0.7 oz unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp water (or milk)
- 0.4 oz sugar
Preparation of the Galette des rois with cocoa
First, we will prepare the filling, the frangipane cream.
In the bowl of the cake mixer (but you can also do it all by hand), put the softened butter with the sugar and work it by hand or with beaters until you create a cream.
Then add one egg at a time, making sure that one egg is absorbed before the next.
Once everything is combined, add the almond flour, cocoa, and pinch of salt.
Work it well until all the ingredients are absorbed.
Put the cream in a piping bag, roll out the first sheet of puff pastry, make a light circle about 2 fingers wide, brush this scored edge with the yolk and water or milk mixture, fill with the piping bag forming a circle from the outside in, then level with a spatula to cover any empty holes.
Insert an almond or another type of nut into the filling, wherever you want, cover with the second disc of puff pastry and seal the edge.
Create a rounded closure with your fingers, slightly running the edge of the pastry along the circumference under the cake.
With the tip of a knife, make cuts all around the circumference, about 1 finger or slightly more apart.
Then, still making light cuts, create lines from the center outward on the surface of the cake and with a toothpick, make some holes in the surface to prevent the cake from puffing up too much and unevenly.
At this point, brush the surface of the cake with the yolk and water or milk mixture, then sprinkle with sugar.
Bake in a preheated oven at 392°F for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 356°F and bake for about another 20 minutes while checking the baking.
At the end of baking, let it cool a bit before serving, but it is still good both hot and cold.
