Pistachio Galette Des Rois (King's Cake)

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By Rachel Lo

Pistachio Galette Des Rois (King's Cake)

Name: Pistachio Galette Des Rois (King's Cake)
Cuisine: French, European, Mediterranean
Ingredients: 180g all-purpose flour; 1.5 sticks (12 oz) unsalted butter, chilled; 1 tsp kosher salt; 113g ice cold water; 85g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 85 g confectioners sugar; 85 g raw or blanched pistachios; 1/2 tsp kosher salt; 2 large eggs, at room temperature; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 1/4 tsp almond extract; 1 egg yolk; 1 Tbsp cream or milk; Pinch of salt

30 steps

This french pastry is traditionally made to celebrate Epiphany on January 6. This version features a pistachio filling instead of the traditional almond, but you could also use almond meal in place of the pistachios for a quicker process. Blanching the pistachios is highly recommended but not totally necessary — instructions can be found towards the end of the recipe. Adapted from King Arthur Flour, NYT, and Stella Parks.

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 01:07:45 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Unbalanced

Glycemic Index

Moderate

Glycemic Load

High

Nutrition per serving

Calories594.8 kcal (30%)

Total Fat50.4 g (72%)

Carbs31 g (12%)

Sugars11.5 g (13%)

Protein6.8 g (14%)

Sodium403.8 mg (20%)

Fiber1.7 g (6%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

8 servings

Instructions

Make the Pastry

Step 1

Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, quickly but carefully slice the butter into thin pats. They don't need to be perfect.

Step 2

Add the flour and salt to a bowl and roughly mix together. Add the butter pats all at once and break them up with your finger tips, coating each piece with flour. If you come across any particularly large/thick pieces of butter, just squish it between your fingers until it's flattened and move on.

Step 3

Add the cold water and loosely incorporate with a spatula until the mixture is shaggy. Dump everything out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times until everything just comes together. Work quickly to avoid overheating the dough. You should still see very large chunks of butter in the dough.

Step 4

Loosely shape the dough into a 6-8" square and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

Step 5

Place the chilled dough on a lightly floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to gently tap down on the surface of the dough a few times; this will make the butter more pliable, and also start increasing the length of the dough.

Step 6

Roll the dough into a rectangle about 8” x 20”; the edges will be rough.

Step 7

Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter, then turn it 90°; this is called a letter fold.

Step 8

Roll the dough into an 8” x 20” rectangle once again.

Step 9

Fold each of the shorter edges toward the center until they meet without overlapping. Fold the dough in half along the center where the edges meet, as if closing a book, then turn it 90°; this is called a book fold.

Step 10

Perform another book fold, using the same folding and turning process. The dough will become more cohesive and easier to work with after each set of folds. If the dough resists rolling or starts shrinking back, wrap it in plastic and chill for 5 to 10 minutes before rolling again. This brief pause will allow the gluten to relax, making rolling easier.

Step 11

Perform one final book fold.

Step 12

After the last fold, chill the dough for 30 minutes before using.

Make the Filling

Step 13

Add the pistachios and powdered sugar to a food processor and blitz until the mixture reaches the texture of fine, damp sand. You can adjust the size of the pistachio pieces to fit your taste — for a smoother filling texture, process more; for a coarser texture, process a bit less.

Step 14

Add the butter, eggs, and extracts and continue to process until the mixture is creamy and homogeneous. If the mixture looks a bit curdled, continue to process until it's smooth.

Step 15

Scrape the filling into a small bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Assemble the Galette

Step 16

Roll puff pastry to a roughly 10" x 20" rectangle. Using a 9" cake pan or bowl as a guide, use a sharp knife to cut out 2 9" circles.

Step 17

Place one round of dough on top of a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread the filling evenly across the center of one of the dough rounds, being careful to leave a 1/2-1" border with no filling.

Step 18

Brush water along the dough where there's no filling. Gently and carefully place the second dough round on top, making sure the edges are lined up.

Step 19

Firmly press the top piece of dough into the bottom one along the border — if this edge isn't sealed properly, your galette filling will run out during baking. Crimp the edges either with a fork or the back of a knife (see video for guidance).

Step 20

Refrigerate galette for 1 hour.

Bake

Step 21

Preheat oven to 400F. If you have a pizza stone or baking steel, you can bake this galette on top of that.

Step 22

Thoroughly mix the egg wash ingredients. Remove the galette from the fridge and brush with the egg wash mixture, taking care to not let any egg wash cover the edges of the galette, which will prevent the puff pastry from puffing up properly when baked.

Step 23

Using the back of a knife, gently etch a pattern into the top of the galette. You don't need to press very hard at all, and you definitely should not be puncturing all the way through the dough when you complete this step.

Step 24

Using the tip of a sharp knife, create 5-6 vent holes that *do* penetrate the top crust, which will allow steam to escape.

Step 25

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the galette is a deep golden brown.

Step 26

If desired, dust the top of the pastry with powdered sugar immediately upon removing it from the oven, and return to the oven for a couple more minutes until the sugar disappears.

Step 27

Let cool before serving.

Blanching Pistachios (Optional)

Step 28

Place raw pistachios in a small sauce pan and just cover with water. Heat the water until it starts to steam but not boil (or simmer) — you want to use really gentle heat.

Step 29

Remove the pistachios and run them under cool water to stop the "cooking" process. One by one, press each pistachio between two fingers and the skin should slide off. You can also put the pistachios between folded layers of a tea towel and very gently roll your hand over the towel to do this more quickly, but it can result in inconsistent (and crumbled) results.

Step 30

Let the pistachios air dry or pop them into an oven on the "warm" setting for 10-15 minutes until no longer damp to the touch. Let cool completely before making frangipane filling.