The traditional French king cake revealed in this Baton Rouge kitchen looks a little different than the Louisiana version we’re accustomed to
This article was originally published in the January 2016 issue of 225.
During her first carnival season in Baton Rouge, transplant Babeth Schlegel noticed something different.
The French king cake tradition she had grown up with in her native Lyon, France, was nothing like the one transpiring in south Louisiana. Here, tri-colored king cake rings, many stuffed with cream cheese and fruit filling, emerged in rectangular bakery boxes around the Feast of the Epiphany, Jan. 6, and didn’t disappear until Ash Wednesday. By then, king cake fans had gorged on a succession of pastries in office kitchens, schools, at parties and at home.
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In contrast to Louisiana’s indulgence, France approaches the king cake ritual with characteristic Old World restraint. Growing up, Schlegel and her family had savored just one annual handmade galette des rois, purchased from a local patisserie.
The classic French king cake was made of puff pastry and stuffed with almond filling, or frangipane. Another version common in France is a brioche ring with decorations on top that make the cake resemble a crown. (That’s the one that our Mardi Gras king cake derives from.)
But Schlegel’s family was loyal to the puff pastry-almond type, and would serve it with Champagne or sparkling wine in the late afternoon. The tradition also included Schlegel’s mother’s collection of ceramic fèves, tiny figurines that were tucked inside the galettes des rois from year to year, and discovered by one lucky recipient.
“The galette des rois was very special, and we only had it once right around the Epiphany,” recalls Schlegel, who moved to Baton Rouge with her American husband, Rob, in 2001 after he was transferred to the Capital Region for work.
Missing the classic French king cake after moving stateside prompted Schlegel to figure out how to make it at home. She found a doable French recipe, converted it to American measurements and modified a few steps to make it achievable as a busy professional. Schlegel is a juried jewelry maker who sells her work at the Baton Rouge Arts Market and regional festivals, and she is the collections manager at the Magnolia Mound Plantation.
Her cake, which she’ll likely make just once this month, uses store-bought puff pastry and is stuffed with a generous amount of homemade almond filling, far more than commercial French cakes include, Schlegel contends.
“That’s the nice thing about doing it at home,” she says. “You can put more filling than a bakery, which, of course, is trying to watch its costs.”
The filling starts with almonds pureed in a small grinder. To the almond powder, Schlegel adds butter, powdered sugar and an egg, and then combines this mixture with thickened custard she makes with egg yolks and hot milk. She presses one large circle of puff pastry into a buttered tart pan, pours in an inexact, but generous, helping of the almond cream and then tops it with another circle of pastry. She crimps the edges of the two pastry sheets together, then brushes egg yolk on the surface to help it turn a beautiful golden brown. She drags a fork in rows across the top to create a pretty texture, and then pops it into a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes.
The resulting cake is diverse in texture, delivering flaky pastry and creamy, subtle filling. It’s festive and delicious.
Get the classic:
The 2016 carnival season is compressed to 35 days this year. Over the course of it, you can find the classic French king cake, galette des rois, through local vendors that include:
Poupart’s Bakery
The longtime Lafayette-based bakery ships both Mardi Gras and a limited number of traditional French king cakes to several Baton Rouge independent supermarkets. poupartsbakery.com
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Forte Grove
The Plaquemine-based artisan bakery, which hosts booths at the Red Stick Farmers Market on Thursdays and Saturdays, will once again feature handmade galettes des rois in two sizes, the larger of which includes a ceramic fève.
Strands Café
Located at 226 Laurel St., the coffee house and French patisserie features three sizes of handmade almond-filled galettes des rois with layers of impressively risen puff pastry. strandscafe.com
Try our version:
Check out this galette des rois recipe from our “Dining In” team.