Galette des Rois

Galette des Rois

I made this for Twelfth Night and it was delicious!  Even though I forgot to add 3 of the ingredients and was too lazy to cut the pastry into a circle as directed.  :-)

1/4 cup almond paste
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1 (17.25 oz) pkg frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 dry kidney bean (or plastic baby) if desired
1 egg, beaten
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1-2 Tbsp heavy cream

Place the almond paste and about half the white sugar into a food processor or blender and process until well blended.  Add the butter and remaining sugar, then blend in the egg, vanilla, almond extract and flour.  (I left out the vanilla, almond extract and the flour and it still tasted really good!  Go figure!)

Preheat the oven to 425^F.  Butter a baking sheet and set aside.

Unfold and roll out one sheet of puff pastry into an 11-inch square.  Place this square onto a large buttered baking sheet.  (You can cut it into a circle if you want to.  Me?  I'm lazy.  And squares are a good shape.)  Mound the filling into the center of the pastry and spread to within 1 1/2 inches of the edges.  You can press the bean into the filling at this point, if you're using one.

Unfold and roll out the last sheet of puff pastry same as before and place it carefully on top of the other sheet.  Firmly press down the edges all around to seal the pastry.

Beat the remaining egg and lightly brush over the top of the pastry.  Use a knife to prick several small slits in the top to vent steam while baking (I forgot to do this too!  I can't believe the thing turned out so well!)

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is a deep golden brown and it's all puffed up.  Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Combine the confectioners' sugar and enough cream to make a glaze.  Drizzle over the cooled pastry and let stand until the glaze sets.

Slice and serve.  The person who gets the bean in their slice becomes King or Queen and gets to host the Twelfth Night party next year.  If you use a bean.  I didn't, but I think it would be fun.  Maybe next year?

I wish I'd remembered to take a picture of this before it was all eaten.  It certainly didn't last long!