Vegan Galette Des Rois
Galette des rois or king cake is delicious puff pastry cake filled with almond frangipane. This galette looks so impressive yet it is really easy to make (because we use store bought puff pastry) and it doesn't take long.
What is galette des rois?
It’s a delicious french cake filled with almond frangipane that is traditionally served on 6th of January (or thorough the whole January or whenever you feel like it). What is the galette des rois tradition? There is usually hidden a fève (usually a bean, but I used an almond) or these days bakeries put inside a small porcelain figure. The person who finds fève in their slice becomes a queen/a king of the day!
So before you ask yourself where to buy galette des rois in London, wait a few seconds - it is so much easier to make than you would think! Let’s look at this galette des rois recipe together.
One little thing - I fancied chocolate frangipane, therefore I added cocoa powder into the frangipane. However if you don’t feel like that, just leave the cocoa powder out - it is still equally delicious!
What ingredients do you need for galette des rois?
PUFF PASTRY - You can easily find vegan puff pastry - I used ready rolled sheets by Jus-Rol which you can find in any supermarket around the UK. You can obviously use puff pastry block and roll it out yourself but you know what? I sometimes can’t be bothered to do that.. And you can use whatever leftover puff pastry you have anyway!
GROUND ALMONDS - or almond flour. This recipe is very forgiving so it doesn't matter whether your ground almonds are ground fine or not.
VEGAN BUTTER - I usually use either Naturli or Flora. I tried both of them and both work in this recipe. I have never tried margarine but since margarine has different water content, it might be a bit different. However I saw that they make a special Stork Baking Margarine and people say it’s good.
CASTER SUGAR - nothing to say really, I used white caster sugar but feel free to use light brown - it won’t change the colour since there is cocoa powder inside.
COCOA/CACAO POWDER - is totally optional - I used it because I wanted to have chocolate frangipane. If you leave it out, don’t add any milk into the frangipane mix.
MAPLE SYRUP - mixed with non-dairy milk and brushed over the top of the galette, it makes it shiny - almost like you used an egg.
Step by step photos how to make galette des Rois
Beat together room temperature butter and caster sugar - until light and fluffy.
Add cornstarch, almond flour, vanilla extract, cocoa powder and 1 tsp of non dairy milk and mix well.
Cut the pastry into two 22 cm circles.
Place first circle of pastry on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and spoon the almond mixture on top. Spread it evenly around (leaving 2cm free space from the edge) and if you want, place somewhere in the filling one whole almond.
Cover with second circle, press the edges together so they are sealed and (optionally) mark them with a back of the knife like you see in the photo - it will create nice edges around the pastry.
Mix maple syrup with 1 tsp non dairy milk.
Brush the galette with maple mixture.
Mark the top of the galette with your picked pattern - leaves, zig zag pattern, spikes,… and make a few tiny holes on top as well. Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes and then bake in preheated oven 220C/200C (fan) for 20-25 minutes.
tips and tricks On how to work with puff pastry
Take puff pastry out of the fridge before you want to work with it. I usually take it out 10-20 minutes before but it depends on how warm it is. So in summer, it will take less time, in winter (or if your kitchen is cold) it takes longer. You shouldn’t leave it out too long though - otherwise butter will melt and it will destroy the layers. Don’t overthink it though. The reason for this is simple - if you try to roll it out (or even flatten the already rolled pastry) straight out of the fridge, it will break. This is also why I recommend you chill the galette before baking.
Make few tiny holes in the galette before baking. This is so it doesn’t rise too much.
Try not to open oven at all. At least in the first half of the baking. My oven bakes a bit more on one side so I opened the oven towards the end of baking and turned the galette around.
Bake puff pastry at high temperature. Ideally 200 C (fan) or 220 C. It will make it rise nicely!
For more recipes like this one follow these links:
Vegan Frangipane Tart with Rhubarb
Vegan Frangipane Tart with Pears
If you make this galette, and take photos of it, you can tag me on instagram - @bigbakesmanifesto and use hashtag #bigbakesmanifesto too! I’d love to see you making my recipes. Or follow me on Pinterest, where you can comment and rate my recipes.
Ingredients
100 g vegan butter (room temperature)
100 g caster sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
100 g almond flour
1/2tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cocoa powder (optional)
2 tsp non dairy milk
400g puff pastry (taken out of the fridge about 30 mins before you start)
1 tsp golden syrup (or maple)
optional: 1 whole almond (or a small porcelain figure)
Method
Take puff pastry out of the fridge (around 10-20 minutes before you want to work with it).
Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add cornstarch, almond flour, vanilla extract and cocoa powder and 1 tsp milk into the sugar + butter mixture and mix everything well.
Cut the pastry into two 22 cm circles. Place the first circle of pastry on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and spoon almond mixture on top. Spread it evenly around (leaving 2cm free space from the edge) and if you want, place somewhere in the filling one whole almond.
Cover with second circle and press the edges to seal. Mark edges with a back of the knife (see the photo in the step by step tutorial).
Mix maple syrup with milk and brush it over the galette. Mark the top of the pastry with a sharp knife - you can do leaves like I did or a zig zag pattern or spikes from the middle to the edges. Make a few small holes on top of the galette and place the galette in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C (fan). Bake for 20-25 mins until golden on top. Leave to cool down completely before cutting.