La Galette des Rois ,watercolor on Etsy,5.5" x 7.5Just when you thought the plethora of excessive eating was over.
La Galette des Rois ,watercolor on Etsy, 5.5" x 7.5Along come the King Cake or La Galette des Rois for Epiphany
Somehow the paper crown always looks a bit askew to me.
The general idea is that since the Middle Ages, Epiphany is celebrated on the 12th night after Christmas (January 6th) with a special 12th night cake- this is when the three kings finally show up bearing gifts. So the cake hides a "gift" too, or a favor or feves. It used to be a bean, symbolizing fertility, but things have moved on and now we have porcelaine charms.
A PB reader wrote me and asked if I knew where she could get some Epifany charms. The only place I know is via AirFrance's ticket office. Unless you live in Japan.
Of course Pierre Herme does a magnificent Galette des Rois, though I've never tasted any of these.
His much coveted charm this year is a little heart.
The idea is some lucky eater at the table gets the little charm in their slice of galette. Then they get to wear the paper crown for the evening, so you really can't taste King Cake alone.
Gerard Mulot has this splendid gateaux on offer...
Patisseriere Sadaharu Aoki takes a different twist on the traditional shape of the French gateaux, making his squarish and filled with green tea paste not the usual almond flavor.You can vicariously see them all here, unless you live in Paris....
BONNE EPIPHANIE!
