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Galette des Rois – plated and served
Cakes & PastriesDessertsVegetarianFrench

Galette des Rois

French King Cake made of puff pastry and almond cream, with a figurine inside and a crown on top.

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Preparation
30 min
Cook/bake time
35 min
Total
2 hr 5 min
Difficulty
Medium
Calories
567 kcal
Servings
8 slices
Prep
30 min
Cooking & baking
35 min
Resting
1 hr

Only 1 hr 5 min of that is hands-on – the rest takes care of itself.

French King Cake made of puff pastry and almond cream, with a figurine inside and a crown on top. On January 6, half of France eats this cake, and whoever finds the baked-in fève in their slice is king for the day. The scored pattern on the lid is not just for decoration: it controls where the dough rises.

Why this works

Puff pastry rises because the water in the butter layers suddenly turns to steam and pushes the dough layers apart, expanding to about a thousand times its volume in seconds. This only works if the butter is still cold and firm when put in the oven. If it is soft, it combines with the dough and the steam has no more layers to separate. That is why the fully filled galette goes into the fridge for another hour before baking. The scored pattern has the same background: where the blade cuts through the top layers, steam escapes in a controlled manner, and the lid rises evenly instead of tearing open at a random spot. The frangipane underneath contains so much almond flour that it hardly releases any water. A watery filling would soften the bottom crust from the inside.

Step-by-step instructions

Conventional · 200 °Cor Fan 180 °C

  1. Mix the frangipane

    Beat the soft butter and sugar until light and fluffy, stir in the eggs one by one, and then fold in the ground almonds, flour, and rum. Do not stir longer than necessary, as too much whipped-in air will cause the filling to rise sharply in the oven and then collapse. Chill it for 30 minutes.

  2. Top the base

    Place the first roll of puff pastry on a baking sheet and spread the frangipane on it, but leave three centimeters free all around. Place the fève, a small porcelain figurine or alternatively an almond, at the edge, not in the middle, otherwise every cut will hit it.

  3. Seal the edge

    Brush the free edge with water, place the second dough circle on top, and press both edges firmly together. Score the edge all around with the back of a knife: these small notches interlock the layers and hold them together as they rise so that the filling does not leak out.

  4. Brush, score, chill

    Mix the egg yolk and milk and brush the lid thinly. Do not brush over the edge, otherwise it will glue the layers together and the dough will not rise there. Score a pattern of arches with the tip of the knife, cutting only the top layers. Then place in the fridge for one hour.

  5. Bake

    Bake the galette at 200 °C top and bottom heat for 10 minutes, then lower to 180 °C and bake for another 25 minutes until deep golden brown. It should get really dark, as a pale puff pastry is still doughy inside. Serve lukewarm, traditionally accompanied by a paper crown.

Our best tips

  • Pure butter puff pastry from the refrigerated section is the only one worth using. Dough with vegetable fat does rise, but tastes flat, and with a cake made of basically two ingredients, this is immediately noticeable.
  • The hour in the fridge before baking is the step everyone skips and the one that makes the biggest difference. Warm butter in the dough means puff pastry without the puff.
  • According to French custom, the youngest child crawls under the table and calls out who gets which slice, so no one can distribute the fève on purpose.

Tasty variations

With apple

Place a layer of thin apple slices on the frangipane. Common in Normandy and significantly less heavy than the pure almond version.

Crème frangipane

Mix the almond cream with 100 g pastry cream. This is the Parisian version, creamier and less compact than the pure almond filling.

What is left over?

This recipe only uses the yolks. The whites keep for three days in the fridge and freeze well – nobody has to throw them out.

Nutrition facts

Per serving (1 slices)
Calories567 kcal
Protein10 g
Carbohydrates42 g
– of which sugar18 g
Fat40 g
Fiber3 g

Where the 567 kcal come from

per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it

We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:

  • Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
  • Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
  • Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
  • Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.

A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.

How we calculate nutrition →

Frequently asked questions

How many calories are in a slice of Galette des Rois?

Around 565 kcal per slice for eight slices. That is a lot, but it is the nature of the dish: puff pastry and frangipane both consist largely of butter, and that contributes almost two thirds of the energy.

What is the fève?

Originally a real bean, today usually a small porcelain figurine that is baked inside. Whoever finds it in their slice is crowned king for the day. A whole almond works just as well, just please warn the guests.

Why is my puff pastry not rising?

Usually it was too warm. Puff pastry needs cold, firm butter layers so that the steam can push them apart. A second common reason is that egg wash has run over the edge and glued the layers together.

Can I prepare it in advance?

Yes, unbaked. Fully filled and sealed, it keeps for a day in the fridge or can be frozen and baked from frozen, then for about 10 minutes longer. Once baked, it tastes best on the same day.

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