*pink cheeks*

Oh la la! Lovely compliments I get from the little galette des rois I made yesterday.



I made pâte feuilletée again and the second time around it felt easier. I hadn’t had the guts to try it for my whole life! If only everything else in life turned out to be as simple. Now now, that sounds a bit cocky … so ok, it wasn’t the easiest thing but puff pastry is simply time consuming to make and do not let that deter you.

Long post alert! Though I thought a detailed raconte of the steps is essential for this recipe.

Galette des rois à la frangipane
(from Larousse des desserts p.129)
pour 4-6 personnes
600 gr pâte feuilletée
300 gr crème frangipane
1 egg

Prepare the pâte feuilletée
Prepare the crème frangipane
Divide the pâte in two and roll out until it is about 2.5mm thick.
Beat the egg and brush the outer edge of one of the disks. Spread the crème frangipane, and pose the other disk on top making sure they seal properly all around.
With a little knife, trace parallel rayures (mmmhhh, now what does this translate in English) in one direction, and then the other. (Oh please, don't worry if you are confused because me too I was terribly confused. Please google images then you'll get the idea)
Leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes whilst the oven preheats to 250°C.
Glide the galettes in the oven, reduce the temperature to 200°C and bake for 40 minutes.

Now, for the components...

Butter puff pastry
(from Baker & Spice Exceptional Cakes by D Lepard & R Whittington)
Butter paste
340 gr unsalted butter, softened
150 gr French T550 flour or plain flour

Assembly
560 gr French T550 flour or 280 gr plain flour and 280 gr strong bread flour + extra for sprinkling
4 egg yolks
180 ml bottled spring water
2 tsp Maldon salt, ground fine

First prepare the butter paste : put the butter and flour in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle. Mix on the slowest speed until combined. Transfer the butter paste to a sheet of cling film and shape into a rectangle about 6mm thick. Wrap in the cling film and keep in cool place (but not in the refrigerator) while you make the dough.

Put the flour, egg yolks, water and salt in a bowl and mix to a dough. If necessary, add another teaspoonful or two of water, but be careful – the dough will soften on resting. What you want is a smooth but fairly tight dough. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is very smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball, wrap in cling film and leave to rest for 1 hour or, ideally, overnight.

Lightly flour the work surface and roll out the dought into a rough square about 8mm thick. Place the rectangle of butter paste in the centre and fold the corners of the dough over the top to cover the paste completely. Wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out, rolling away from you, into a long rectangle about 65-70 x 35-40 cm and 1 cm thick.

Fold one end in by a sixth and then the other end in by a sixth. Fold both ends over again by a sixth so that they meet in the centre. Now fold the two together, as if you are closing a book.

Next turn the dough so the fold is to one side. Roll it out gently away from you again into a long rectangle about the same length as before. Fold one end of the dough in by one-third, then the other end in by a third, over the top of the first third. This is a single turn.

Spread a sheet of cling film over a tray, place the dough on top and cover tightly with cling film. Leave in the refrigerator or cool place for 1 hour.

Set the dough on a floured work surface so the fold is to one side. Roll out into a rectangle again and give it a single turn, followed immediately by another single turn. Wrap in cling film and leave in the refrigerator overnight before using.



Crème frangipane
(from Larousse des desserts p.54)
100 gr butter in room temperature
100 gr icing sugar
100 gr almond meal
1 tsp corn flour
2 eggs
1 drop of bitter almond essence
125 gr crème pâtissière
Cut the butter into little pieces and place in a bowl. Soften with a spatula then switch to an electric mixer at low speed, add successively the icing sugar, almond meal, corn flour, the almond essence (which I substituted with a tiny dash of orange blossom water) and eggs. Lastly, incorporate the crème pâtissière and mix well.
Cover with cling wrap if not used immediately.

Note:
1. I'm tired of typing, will type up the recipe for crème pâtissière in le prochain blog.
2. Bon courage et bon appétit!