If you stop by a bakery or a pastry shop in France in January, you will definitely find the ‘Galette des rois’, which is King Cake in English . It’s a special cake that people eat in January during the festival of Epiphany. According to Christian tradition, Epiphany is on January 6th, when three wise men from the East came to celebrate the birth of Son of God, Jesus.
The most popular King Cake, which started in Paris, is made with puff pastry dough and cream frangipane, a combination of almond cream and pastry cream. A small ornament of Jesus, made of pottery, is hidden in the cream. When a family eats the cake, mother usually cuts the cake into pieces. The youngest child sits under the table, and decides who gets each piece of cake. The person who gets the small ornament in his piece will become the king of the day, gets to wear the crown and chooses a queen. So if we buy a King Cake, it usually comes with a paper crown.
Some regions of France have their own version of King Cake. In southern France, King Cake is a brioche in the form of a crown topped with candied fruits. There is also dry King Cake made of puff pastry dough without cream inside.
I like this cake because it brings about many pleasant memories. I celebrated two Epiphanies while I was in France. For the first one, I had just arrived in France a few months before, and had started to make some friends in French language school. My birthday was coming. Surprisingly I got to know my classmate, a lovely English girl Jessica, have the same birthday as me. We went to a bar with other friends to celebrate together. Since it’s almost Epiphany, I bought the King Cake. The waiter warmed the cake in the oven for us. I was so happy to hang out with friends and enjoy a nice piece of King Cake, and not celebrating my birthday alone. It was one of the special birthdays in my life, and King Cake was my birthday cake.
For the second Epiphany, I was working at a pastry shop called Jacques Génin. We were busy with making King Cake in January. They were the first cakes we put in the oven every morning, and the most important things of the day. Chef Génin always baked King Cake himself. He used a special rum from Martinique to flavor the cream, and a chestnut syrup to glaze the cake. It was the most delicious King cake I'd ever had.
Now it’s January, people don’t have this tradition in California, but I would like to make this cake which recalls the beautiful moments in my life. What's more, you can only find this delicious cake in January. If you miss it, you will wait for another year!
Some regions of France have their own version of King Cake. In southern France, King Cake is a brioche in the form of a crown topped with candied fruits. There is also dry King Cake made of puff pastry dough without cream inside.
I like this cake because it brings about many pleasant memories. I celebrated two Epiphanies while I was in France. For the first one, I had just arrived in France a few months before, and had started to make some friends in French language school. My birthday was coming. Surprisingly I got to know my classmate, a lovely English girl Jessica, have the same birthday as me. We went to a bar with other friends to celebrate together. Since it’s almost Epiphany, I bought the King Cake. The waiter warmed the cake in the oven for us. I was so happy to hang out with friends and enjoy a nice piece of King Cake, and not celebrating my birthday alone. It was one of the special birthdays in my life, and King Cake was my birthday cake.
For the second Epiphany, I was working at a pastry shop called Jacques Génin. We were busy with making King Cake in January. They were the first cakes we put in the oven every morning, and the most important things of the day. Chef Génin always baked King Cake himself. He used a special rum from Martinique to flavor the cream, and a chestnut syrup to glaze the cake. It was the most delicious King cake I'd ever had.
Now it’s January, people don’t have this tradition in California, but I would like to make this cake which recalls the beautiful moments in my life. What's more, you can only find this delicious cake in January. If you miss it, you will wait for another year!
