With chocolate, chestnut, green tea, paired with a babka… Today, the galette des rois is becoming “creative”. Like the yule log, it’s the one that will get people talking the most, with an escalation of ingredients – which sometimes have nothing to do with frangipane. Every year, nearly 32 million galettes are sold in France, or 10% of the annual turnover of an artisan baker. A sacred manna, which pushes to attract customers with a few tricks. But is it really necessary?
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“In truth, people love the frangipane pancake”, assures Nina Métayer, a thirty-year-old pastry chef who has already won several awards. “We have reached the end of the revisited galette”, she continues, recalling that during this family celebration par excellence, ancestors and grandchildren will find themselves more easily around a traditional galette than a fluorescent green version, flavored with matcha tea…
There remains a debate: so-called “Parisian” galette des rois, puff pastry with frangipane, or brioche king cake with candied fruit, as in the South? Even if the crown brioche progresses, the frangipane remains the favorite of the French (73% against 4%). Those who offer the southern version in the capital, however, have their little success. “Even though I sell my frangipane well, I’m best known for my Epiphany brioche wreath,” remarks Kamel Saci of the Léonie bakery in Paris.
One and the same golden rule: the use of quality products. A condition observed by most professionals, with the exception of some craftsmen who buy their frozen cake from the catalog (the law on “homemade” does not apply to cakes and pastries). So, to taste a traditional galette worthy of the name, with a real frangipane (almond cream + pastry cream), an inverted puff pastry (more buttery than the classic puff pastry), just choose it quite puffy, rather caramelized in color with a certain brilliance, and to favor a personalized decor rather than a standard checkerboard design.
• Jacques Genin
It’s the galette that reaps all the praise, and rightly so: its inverted puff pastry with a very buttery flavor and its generous frangipane sign an exceptional quality, in all its simplicity. Galette for 6 people, 54 euros. On command.
- 27, rue de Varenne, Paris-7th and 133, rue de Turenne, Paris-3rd.
• Delicacy
The aptly named “l’Authentique”, created by pastry chef Nina Métayer, with light puff pastry and frangipane with almond cream, is simply garnished with roasted almond flakes. Galette for 6 to 8 people, 34 euros.
- Order on delicatisserie.com, and delivery or click & collect at temporary pick-up points.
• Leonie
Kamel Saci, originally from the South-West, offers, in addition to frangipane, a marvelous crown (as we say in Bordeaux) of kings, made with Vendée brioche, orange blossom, and candied fruit. Brioche of kings, 18 euros. Galette for 6 to 8 people, 30 euros.
- 96, rue de Lévis, Paris-17th and 15, avenue Trudaine, Paris-9th.
