Epiphany - Galette des Rois

To celebrate Epiphany on January 6 each year we have Galette des Rois: Kings' Cake. I've been doing it for years now; each Twelfth Night (the evening of Jan. 5, i.e. the 12th day of Christmas), I scurry around doing the necessary pre-preparations, thawing some puff pastry and blanching almonds. My recipe is in French (one that I gleened from the Web in the early days...), and has been (more or less) perfected over the years.

I'd say that it's a never-fail recipe, but the fact is that I had to learn over the course of many attempts before I could get it right consistently. At this point, however, it is just the right size for two, very flavorful, and well, indicative of the season--one last splurge as the holidays pass away for another year. As well as the puff pastry (pâte feuilletée) case, it also has a delicious vanilla/rum frangipane filling.

I've always wanted to put in the legendary fêve, but I've never managed to get one! One of the classic porcelain baby Jesus figurines, that is. I've used an actual fêve (bean) before, but it's not quite the same as a traditional one that gets used over again each year. Besides, when there are only the two of us partaking, there's not really much more to win....

Here's a photo of this year's contribution. I have to say that I'm kind of happy the holidays are through. They were pleasant enough, but I'm looking forward to getting back to normal (as much as possible anyway...).