Incase one of your New Year’s Resolution is to start a diet, well hold that thought a few more days. ‘Tis the season to eat and enjoy all sorts of food and sweets and in a day comes the King Cake or what we refer to as Galette Des Rois – a round golden crunchy puff pastry cake enjoyed during the festival of Epiphany which occurs on January 6.
- La Cigale: This place comes highly recommended by my friends who suggest that they sell the best king cakes in town.
- Pate a Choux: This is one of my favorite pastry shops in Lebanon
- Paul: I entered this place by chance today and discovered their king cakes – why not compare the local ones to a French one.
Some Definitions:Epiphany, which traditionally falls on January 6, is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ. Western Christians commemorate principally (but not solely) the visit of the Magi to the Baby Jesus, and thus Jesus’ physical manifestation to the Gentiles. Eastern Christians commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God.
A king cake is a type of cake associated with the festival of Epiphany in the Christmas season in a number of countries, and in other places with the pre-Lenten celebrations of Mardi Gras / Carnival. It is a popular food item during the Christmas season (Christmas Eve to Epiphany) in Lebanon, France, Belgium, Quebec and Switzerland (galette or gâteau des Rois or galette des rois). The cake has a small plastic baby, said to represent Baby Jesus) inside (or sometimes placed underneath), and the person who gets the piece of cake with the trinket has various privileges and obligations.
The French King Cake, produced in Lebanon is a cake traditionally celebrating Epiphany in France and Quebec sold in most bakeries during the month of January. Two versions exist: in northern France and Quebec the cake called galette des rois (which can be either circular or rectangular) consists of flaky puff pastry layers with a dense center of frangipane.The cake filling:Frangipane is a filling made from or flavored with almonds. This filling can be used in a variety of ways including cakes, tarts and other assorted pastries. An alternative French spelling from a 1674 cookbook is franchipane with the earliest modern spelling coming from a 1732 confectioners’ dictionary. Originally designated as a custard tart flavored by almonds or pistachios it came later to designate a filling that could be used in a variety of confections and baked goods. Frangipane is one of France’s many traditional foods associated with Christmas celebration.
These days it is normally made of butter, sugar, eggs, and ground almonds: beat butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, gradually beat in the eggs, fold in the ground almonds.
I tried three cakes – on average the same size each (serving 8-10 people), so the comparison can be fair
- Paul
- La Cigale
La Cigale’s cake is sold for 33,000L.L and served on a carton and put in a carton box. The taste is a bit commercial but the inner filling is rich and creamy. I liked the crust; it’s crunchy and enjoyable. A bit too sweet for my taste but I would order it again next year. The box is nice and the price very reasonable.
- Pate a Choux