Galette des Rois Praliné

So much of the food we love and cherish is tied to nostalgia.

Galette des Rois is one of them for me. I have such vivid memories of eating this dessert from such a young age. Waiting for an adult to cut through the galette, examining every move, how the knife went in, what slice was the best one to pick… to hopefully win the fève, so you could be crowned King.

It’s a sweet treat that is only eaten in January (traditionally on the 6th), and since i’ve moved away from home, I haven’t been back during galette season. So It’s something I’ve missed out on for the past 3 years.

London has galette-a-gogo, every bakery has some sort of rendition… but there is something that feels wrong about paying SO much money (i’ve seen some going to £40+…) for something that is actually do-able at home. It may not be homemade puff pastry, and it might not look the most polished, but anything like this, homemade, will always taste that much better.

For extra nostalgia, I’ve filled it with a not-so-traditional filling of hazelnut and choc with a touch of almonds (a nod to tradition) - hybrid-ing 2 of my most nostalgic viennoiserie into 1 treat: pain au chocolat praliné (something I used to get from the boulangerie up the road every single Sunday) and the gorgeous galette des rois.

I could cry.

Notes: If you can’t find blanched hazelnuts, use normal skin-on hazelnuts.

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients 

100g Blanched Hazelnuts 

75g Ground Almonds

1/4 Tsp Salt

100g Caster Sugar 

140g Unsalted Butter 

3 Eggs

2x500g Blocks of Puff Pastry

60g Dark Chocolate 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to fan 160°C 

2. Place the hazelnuts onto a baking tray. Once the oven is hot, roast for 7-10 minutes, until golden. Set aside to cool. 

3. Once cooled, add the toasted hazelnuts to a food processor and pulse until finely ground. 

4. Pour the ground hazelnuts into a bowl and stir through the ground almonds and salt. Beat in the caster sugar, butter, 1 whole egg, 1 egg yolk until combined. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag, close and place in the fridge until firm, at least 45 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, lightly flour a clean work surface and roll both puff pastry sheets to 7mm-1cm thick. Cut both  into a circle of around 23cm, making sure they’re both the same size. Place each onto baking paper, stack on top of each other, then place onto a baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate until cold. 

6. Roughly chop the chocolate into small chunks. Crack the remaining egg into a bowl and whisk together- this is the egg wash.

7. Pipe the frangipane onto 1 puff pastry round, leaving a 2-3cm border around the edge. Scatter over the chocolate chunks, then press them in. 

8. Brush the border of the pastry with some egg wash, then, drape the other pastry circle on top. Gently press it on, expelling any air out, then use your thumb to seal the pastry all round the edge. Using a fork, crimp the edges, then brush the surface with egg wash. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

9. Turn the oven temp up to fan 180°C.

10. Bake in the oven, until golden brown, 45-50 minutes. Then, leave to cool for at least 15-20 minutes, before serving.