By craft baker Christophe Blond

In France, January is the month bakers make a traditional ’Galette des Rois’, using some puff pastry dough and "almond cream". The ’Galette’ is sold with a crown, given to the person who discovers a figurine, which the baker has placed inside the Galette.

The shelf-life of this easy-to-make product is excellent. Your customers can eat it warm or cold and it is absolutely delicious!

== Almond cream ==

Ingredients Amount

Almond powder 1,000g

Sugar 1,000g

Margarine or butter 1,000g

Eggs 16

Flour 100g

Rum 100ml

== Method ==

1. Mix 240g puff pastry for 10 minutes with a planetary mixer. With a pastry brake, pin the puff pastry dough down to number 4.

2. Then, cut two 25cm discs of dough and pipe the almond cream on the top of one of them, leaving an edge of pastry, a 1.5cm wide, all around.

3. Remember to place a figurine inside the cream. Then egg wash the pastry around the cream and stick the other pastry disc on top of the cream, crimping the edges firmly together. Egg wash the top of the Galette, then, with a knife, make a criss-cross pattern in the pastry on top.

4. Leave the Galette to rest for at least half an hour, then bake it on a tray for 20 minutes at 220°C.

5. Next, take the Galette out of the oven and, using a brush, coat the top with a sugar syrup. Then bake it again for a further 5-10 minutes.