As soon as the logs have left the windows of bakeries and pastry shops, the essential Kings cake is making a comeback.
Traditionally consumed on the occasion of the Epiphany, the galette has become a true entity of French gastronomy.
Frangipane pancake in the North of France and brioche bread with candied fruit in the South, the debate unleashes the crowds (at least as much as that which opposes pain au chocolat and chocolatine).
But how do you recognize a homemade, well-balanced and properly cooked pancake?
Answers with Camille Lesecq (1), pastry chef at Meurice from 2004 to 2012 and co-author of the book
Le Dessert Bistrot / Palace
and Christophe Roussel, creator of sweets in La Baule, Pornichet, Guérande and Paris (2).
An amber tint
Round and golden because it must evoke the solar star, the cake nevertheless wins by displaying a more sustained color, amber, almost coffee: "A color that is too pale, a little white on the edges, betrays a flaky pastry. fairly cooked, often too heavy ”, explains Camille Lesecq, pastry chef.
A well-amber color guarantees a good cooking and a crispy puff pastry as desired.
Edges not too massive
A good puff pastry, sufficiently cooked therefore, will be fine, light, "with well-developed edges but not massive", he emphasizes.
This can be seen especially when cutting: the laminating must resist slightly, then “sing” while yielding under the pressure of the knife.
Too crumbly, the patty has probably been frozen.
A good hold
Even cut into pieces, the pancake must hold together well.
"If the tip stings the nose, it's a bad sign: the puff pastry, too little cooked on the underside, will necessarily be soft and heavy to digest", warns Christophe Roussel, creator of sweets in La Baule, Pornichet, Guérande and Paris.
And for good reason, cooking is very important.
“Filling and puff pastry rise at the same time in the oven.
The whole must therefore be perfectly homogeneous, ”adds pastry chef and author Camille Lesecq.
Too much filling in fact prevents the lower lamination from swelling, causing a large empty space between the filling and the upper part of the lamination.
A balanced garnish
The galette is eaten lukewarm
The specialists are categorical on this point. "This is where it reveals all the flavors that compose it: butter, almonds, rum, vanilla". And we avoid the microwave which risks overcooking the pancake and softening it. The ideal is to reheat it in the oven at low temperature (160 ° C) for 10 to 15 minutes, halfway up.
The traditional galette has two garnishes: almond cream or frangipane.
“The frangipane is made up of a third of pastry cream for two thirds of almond cream,” explains Camille Lesecq.
Almond cream, on the other hand, consists of a mixture of butter and almond powder.
But there are variations: apple, chocolate ... Obviously, before having bought the pancake, no way to see what the filling looks like but "a serious craftsman, proud of the quality of his batch, will not balk. never to make you taste a piece to convince you, however notes Christophe Roussel, creator of sweets in La Baule, Pornichet, Guérande and Paris.
In video, recipe for the frangipane pancake with Benoît Castel
A smell of butter
On the scent side, we will leave aside a cake of kings which does not distill a good smell of fresh butter (other fats, less noble and often vegetable replace it sometimes) and where a strong presence of rum masks the poor quality of the wine. almond powder.
An iron aftertaste does not necessarily indicate a faulty workmanship but rather a poorly cleaned baking sheet.
Read the labels carefully
If we can not help but buy our pancake in supermarkets, above all, we do not ignore the careful examination of the list of ingredients.
“A classic frangipane pancake contains only natural products,” emphasizes Christophe Roussel.
Butter, water, salt, flour, eggs, ground almonds, cream, vanilla pods, sugar and rum.
Out of there, no salvation ”.
We put the cake on the shelf.
Better to do it yourself.
(1) Camille Lesecq, co-author of the book
Le Dessert Bistrot / Palace
, La Martinière editions, 240 pages, € 35.
(2) Christophe Roussel, 6 allée des Camélias, 44500 La Baule.
Phone.
: 02 40 60 65 04. 5 rue tardieu 75018 Paris.
Phone.
: 01 42 58 91 01.
* This article has been updated and was originally published on January 3, 2017.
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