Hi everyone! After the Yule Log season, we begin the King Cake or “Galette des Rois” season with this delicious hazelnut and lemon King Cake. This French pastry is traditionally eaten for the celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany which held on January 6. This is made up of a puff pastry, filled with hazelnut cream and lemon confit. Both flavors work perfectly together, and the acidity of the lemon is really nice. This recipe is very easy to make, especially with the fast technique of the puff pastry.
For a 26cm King Cake:
Puff pastry:
- 250g of flour
- 200g of butter
- 125mL of water
- 5g of salt
Hazelnut cream:
- 120g of butter
- 2 eggs
- 100g of sugar (any kind)
- 140g of grounded hazelnut
Lemon confit:
- 50g of lemon peel
- 125mL of lemon juice
- 75g of sugar
Egg wash:
- 1 egg yolk
- 2g of full liquid cream
Syrup (optional) :
- 20mL of water
- 20g of honey (or sugar)
Let’s begin with the puff pastry:
1. Roughly mix the sifted flour with the very cold butter, cut into small pieces, and the salt. You can use your hands or the flat beater of a stand mixer.
2. Add the very cold water and stir until everything is well-combined. Be careful not to over mix, there must still remain pieces of butter, it’s normal.
3. Put the dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll out. The length should be approximately three times longer than the width.
4. Fold the top of the dough on the center, then the bottom on it. Before folding, remove the excess of flour. Don’t panic, the pictures speak for themselves. 🙂
5. Turn the dough of quarter turn to the left or to the right. Once you’ve chosen the direction you must keep it for the next turns.
6. Repeat four more times the steps 3 to 5. In the end, you’ll have folded the dough 5 times. If you encounter difficulties while working the dough, you can place it a few minutes in the fridge or flour even more the surface.
This is how the dough looks like at the fifth round. 
7. When you’re done, refrigerate until needed (minimum 30min).
Now for the lemon confit:
1. Peel the lemon using a peeler and try not to take too much of the white part. You can then, with a knife, remove even more some of the white parts.
2. Place the peels in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil. Empty the water and repeat this operation 2 more times. This will remove the bitterness of the lemon peel.
3. Add the lemon juice and the sugar. Cook over low heat for about 20-30min until there isn’t much juice left. Make sure to stir from time to time so the sugar doesn’t burn.
4. Mix the mixture while it’s still hot until you get a smooth paste.
5. Place it in a pastry bag and put aside until use.
Last preparation, the hazelnut cream:
1. Cream the softened butter with the sugar. You should take your butter out of the fridge minimum 1h30 before beginning to make this step easier. Add the grounded hazelnut.
2. Then, add the eggs at room temperature one by one. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.
3. Refrigerate while we roll out the dough.
It’s time to assemble the King Cake:
1. Divide your dough in half and roll out each half on a floured surface or on a floured parchment paper, until you can cut a 26cm circle. It must be pretty thin, about 2mm thickness.
2. Use a mold or a plate and cut around with a knife, don’t press the dough with your mold.
3. On one of the circles, spread the hazelnut cream leaving a 2cm border. Then, add a layer of lemon confit. Don’t forget the bean!
4. Put water on the border. Take the other circle, rotate it a quarter turn and place it over the cream. Turning one circle will help the dough to raise evenly.
5. Score all over the Galette with the back of a knife to weld the two parts. You can watch this video to see the technique. Turn it onto its back. This is another tip to have an even cooking.
6. Wash the top with the egg/liquid cream mixture without touching the edges. Refrigerate 1h or freeze it 15-20min.
7. Wash a second time and then draw the pattern of your choice with the back of a knife. You mustn’t cut the dough, just apply a light pressure. I’ve first drawn vertical lines, and then, between the lines, small diagonal lines to create triangles. Then, pierce 5 holes in the Galette.
8. Cook it 40min in a 170°C preheated oven (fan-assisted) and then lower the temperature to 160°C and cook 5 more minutes. The King Cake should be nicely browned without any white spots.
For the syrup:
1. Bring to boil the water and honey.
2. Brush the top of the Galette right out of the oven.
Your delicious King Cake is ready! Enjoy!
Don’t forget to write an email to partage@justonemorecake.com to share your pictures of the recipe and your opinions! I will add them at the bottom of this article.
