This was the Magi of France, whom I surprisingly discovered in my mouth one fine morning. When baby Jesus was born, the Magi went to visit him and bring him a gift. He arrived on January 6th, the Solemnity of Epiphany, with his gift of a doughy French bread with sugar on top, called a galette. Over the years, the galette has evolved into more of a pastry or, in some regions, a cake. Every region has a different type of galette. The Franche-Comte region's galette is a flaky pastry with a center filled with frangipane, giving it a mildly almondy shortbread feeling to it and is really quite delicious. During the month of January, every bakery sells them and it has become not only a common treat for at home, but for in the office as well.
So Jeremy brought home some left-over galette from work one day for me to try. I had it for breakfast and was half-way through when I bit down on something hard. I furrowed my brow and searched my mouth for the intrusion of my delightful pastry to find a ceramic figurine! The figurine is hidden in the cake and whoever gets that slice is crowned "king" for the day. It is even sold with a paper crown that the king must wear for the whole day. Yes, even during office meetings. In some offices, the king is the one who has to bring in the galette the next day. Originally, before the figurine took hold, a broad bean was hidden in the cake and whoever found it was king of that feast.
Traditionally, when served at parties or the first time it is served at the office, the youngest person goes under the table and determines who gets each piece. This prevents a biased serving from the server of the galette, who may see the figurine while cutting.
This may all sound somewhat familiar, because it is! The American Mardi gras king cake is a spin-off of the galette. Allegedly, a French-Canadian explorer introduced Mardi gras in 1699 just 60 miles south of what is now New Orleans, while on expedition on behalf of the French crown. Then, in 1870, the tradition of the king cake was said to be introduced in New Orleans via visiting Frenchies. The New Orleans king cake is very similar to the southern France style galette, which is more of a torus-shaped brioche decorated with candied fruits and sugar, completely different from the galette in my town!
I hope you enjoyed the little history lesson! Tomorrow our microwave and washing machine will supposedly be delivered. This is after Thursday, when they said it would be delivered the 29th, then Friday when they said they would call in the next two days to set up a delivery time and has no notes about anyone saying it would be delivered the 29th, and then Saturday when they said the washing machine is still being delivered (but didn't say when) but they ran out of the model of microwave we selected so we need to pick out a new one. My hopes are not high, but my fingers are crossed anyway!
So Jeremy brought home some left-over galette from work one day for me to try. I had it for breakfast and was half-way through when I bit down on something hard. I furrowed my brow and searched my mouth for the intrusion of my delightful pastry to find a ceramic figurine! The figurine is hidden in the cake and whoever gets that slice is crowned "king" for the day. It is even sold with a paper crown that the king must wear for the whole day. Yes, even during office meetings. In some offices, the king is the one who has to bring in the galette the next day. Originally, before the figurine took hold, a broad bean was hidden in the cake and whoever found it was king of that feast.
Traditionally, when served at parties or the first time it is served at the office, the youngest person goes under the table and determines who gets each piece. This prevents a biased serving from the server of the galette, who may see the figurine while cutting.
This may all sound somewhat familiar, because it is! The American Mardi gras king cake is a spin-off of the galette. Allegedly, a French-Canadian explorer introduced Mardi gras in 1699 just 60 miles south of what is now New Orleans, while on expedition on behalf of the French crown. Then, in 1870, the tradition of the king cake was said to be introduced in New Orleans via visiting Frenchies. The New Orleans king cake is very similar to the southern France style galette, which is more of a torus-shaped brioche decorated with candied fruits and sugar, completely different from the galette in my town!
I hope you enjoyed the little history lesson! Tomorrow our microwave and washing machine will supposedly be delivered. This is after Thursday, when they said it would be delivered the 29th, then Friday when they said they would call in the next two days to set up a delivery time and has no notes about anyone saying it would be delivered the 29th, and then Saturday when they said the washing machine is still being delivered (but didn't say when) but they ran out of the model of microwave we selected so we need to pick out a new one. My hopes are not high, but my fingers are crossed anyway!
Besancon style galette, a mixture between Northern and Western style.