Knowing Nantes A place where you can get to know Nantes and the people who live there, fast!

Traditional Galette de Roi

Just after Christmas, when you have really had enough of eating lots of rich and fattening foods, we then have the traditionally Galette de Roi celebrations (or the cake of the King’s).  It’s a lovely tradition, but not when you are trying to get back on the straight and narrow with your New Year diet ;(

So where does this cake originate? This cake is a  celebration of Epiphany, it’s traditionally sold and consumed a few days before and after this date. But in France now, you can find it in the bakery for much longer, in the supermarket, pretty much the whole month of January!  Two versions exist: in northern France and Quebec the cake (which can be either circular or rectangular) consists of flaky puff pastry layers with a dense center of frangipan.

In the south of France, particularly in Occitania and Roussillon the cake, called gâteau des rois or royaume, is a brioche with candied fruits, very similar to the Catalan Tortell. This version of the cake originates in Provence and pre-dates the northern version.

Gateau de Royaume, origin Southern France

The tradition holds that the cake is “to draw the kings” to the Epiphany. A figurine, la fève, which can represent anything from a car to a cartoon character, is hidden in the cake and the person who finds the trinket in their slice becomes king for the day  and will have to offer the next cake. Originally, la fève was literally a broad bean (fève), it seems to pre-date the Christian celebration and was part of the Saturnalia feast in the Roman Empire (source Wikipedia). It seemed to represent the seed of new growth. but it was replaced in 1870 by a variety of figurines out of porcelain or—more recently—plastic. These figurines have become popular collectibles and can often be bought separately – you will find them at bric-a-brac markets and car boot sales for sale.

Traditional feves

Individual bakeries may offer a specialized line of fèves depicting diverse themes from great works of art to classic movie stars and popular cartoon characters.The cakes are usually sold in special bags, some of which can be used to heat the cake in a microwave without ruining the crispness of the cake. A paper crown is included with the cake to crown the “king” who finds the fève in their piece of cake.

To ensure a random distribution of the cake, it is traditional for the youngest person to place themselves under the table and name the recipient of the share which is indicated by the person in charge of cutting the cake.

Traditionally, one divided the cake in as many shares as guests, plus one. The latter, called “the share of God,” “share of the Virgin Mary,” or “share of the poor” was intended for the first poor person to arrive at the home.

I didn’t know this, but the French President is not allowed to “draw the kings” on Epiphany because of certain etiquette rules – something about the danger of wearing crowns? Therefore, a traditional galette without figurine or crown is served at Elysée Palace in January.

Having just been reading one of my favourite blogs whytraveltofrance.com there is a funny story there about a  baker in the Vaucluse area of France who “has discovered the secret ingredient to a successful the same ingredient as most popular products: sex. Specifically, the boulanger put feves featuring various Kamasutra positions.”

Needless to say, the galettes are selling like like hotcakes! (Pardon the pun).

Kama Sutra Feves selling like hotcakes!