Galette des Rois to Mark the 12 Days of Christmas

Like a brutal hairpin, most of us are forced to swerve headfirst into mundane reality on January the 1st. Most of us, but not all. The devout will have one last hurrah: the feast of the Epiphany. Celebrated on the 6th and the 7th of January of the New Year, this religious Feast of the Kings is a time for worship, celebration and most importantly a time to keep the good time going by replacing the rum soaked puddings of Christmas, with the crisp, warm and nutty 'Gallete des Rois'. Chef Prateek Bhaktiani examines this festival and its modern day celebration here in Mumbai.

It is Monday, the 2nd of January 2023. When did that happen?! I drive back to Bandra after eight seemingly endless hours of back-to-work slump. It's all finally come to an end, all wrapped away. First Christmas and then New Years Eve, have been enjoyed and unwillingly set aside to make way for another new year. Yet as I drive home, I notice that all the Christmas lights are still up. People still stand around and gawk at the iconic Damian Christmas display, which too, is still going strong. It is still very much all tinsel and twine, all mistletoe and wine. For the devout (of which there is no shortage in Bandra), ‘tis still very much the season to be jolly. As it will be for 5 more days, and 5 more nights; until the coming of grand last hurrah on the 7th of January with the Feast of the Epiphany.

Sometimes referred to the Feast of Three Kings, Epiphany celebrates the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem and the revelation of the baby Jesus as the incarnate son of god and destined king of Israel. Growing up in Mumbai, this holiday seemed always to simmer under the surface of my passive attentiveness. I could see Mount Mary mass continuing to be grander into the first weeks of January, and yuletide cheer lingering. But it was only after I started reading into the importance of Epiphany did I realise how references to the revelation were sprinkled everywhere: 12 days of Christmas ring a bell? From the 24/25th of December to the 6/7th of January, Epiphany is celebrated as the 12th day of Christmas. Or maybe you're just in it for the joyful carols, and really who can blame you? The ‘Little Drummer Boy’ a modern classic, and easily my favourite, refers to the drummer boy bringing gifts to the new-born-king on, you guessed it, the day of the Epiphany. Even casual passersby in Bandra would not be able to miss plentiful crosses spotted around its bylanes with the letters INRI etched into Jesus’s halo. Think back to reading this piece the next time you pass one of these and proceed to causally impress your friends by pointing out that those letters stand for ‘Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum’ (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews is probably easier to remember though). Oh, how cultured you will sound!

Most importantly however, at least for someone with as insatiable an appetite for sugar as I, Epiphany is a time to ditch the dense boozy fruit cakes of Christmastime for the crisp, nutty richness of what I promise is going to become your new favourite dessert: the Galette des Rois. Or the King's Cake if you'd rather not be quite as pretentious as myself, or even the Galette de l’Egalite on the off-chance that you happen to be a revolutionary Frenchman who isn't too hot on the idea of Kings and their kind. In any case, the galette is at its simplest, a rich layer of fresh almond frangipane, sandwiched between two layers of impossibly buttery and crisp puff pastry, all to resemble a sort of golden brown pie or tart with an iconic decorative etching on top.

And is that all? Well, of course not! There is a certain etiquette to making and enjoying the galette. It is presented, as you would expect pastry royalty to be, with a decorative crown on top; and hidden in the creamy frangipane is a single whole almond (or for most modern bakeries, a decorative charm). As soon as cake is served, the game is afoot! Everyone is served a slice, and with every bite anticipation builds for who has the lucky ‘Feve’. For they shall be King (or Queen) and claim for themselves the crown that sat atop the cake, and they shall be royalty for tonight, and by everyone else that ate the cake, be treated as such. Or whatever the modern day equivalent of that is, control over the aux-cord maybe?

So finally, if you have made it this far into reading this piece: I invite you, my Kings and Queens, to five extra days of Christmas and a cake fit for royalty with which to toast the season away. For this year, on the 12th day of Christmas, your true favourite pastry chef (who me? Why thank you!) gave to you, a list of some of the best Galettes des Rois in Mumbai, and where you can find them.

ALMOND & VANILLA CROISSANT GALETTE
MASA Bakery
Love an almond croissant? Well of course you do! With MASAs yeasted version of this classic cake, you get all the buttery goodness of a galette bolstered with all the umami comfort of an almond croissant. And thats not it, Chefs Nariman and Anushka take this cake a step further by adding chunks of milk and dark chocolate into the frangipane for good measure.

I would also be remiss not to mention the incredibly cute story that inspired this galette. On one of their dates early into the relationship, on a cold winter's day in Paris, Chef Anushka recalls, “(Nariman) bought me the absolute best Galette des Rois by Michael Bartocetti at George V Paris. It was a flaky croissant dough, galette des rois much like ours without the chocolate. Our galette des rois is inspired by his 2020 galette des rois. And to my surprise, I got the little flower inside the galette!”

I will look away now, for I think there might be something in my eye. *sobs*

₹2,950 - Come All (Whole)
24 Hour Preorder at : www.masabakery.in
OR
Call/ Whatsapp +91 8928991204

**Almond & vanilla croissant galette by MASA**

GALETTE
MAG ST. BREAD CO.
“Christmas has always been special for the team and I.”, says Gauri Devidayal of Magazine Street, “ Be it our 25 day advent calendar, a special Christmas menu or this limited edition King’s cake celebrating the 12th day of Christmas.”

The galette here is a Magazine Street’s signature crisp approach to puff pastry that is filled with a sweet yet balanced almond frangipane. And what's even better is that it comes with the traditional crown to allow you to enjoy this cake in all of its festive glory.

As Devidayal probably puts it better, “As the three kings were led to baby Jesus, we lead you to put on the crown and relish this traditional galette.”

₹185 - Come One (Slice)
₹1,000 - Come All (Whole)
24 Hour Preorder at : https://thrivenow.in/magstbreadco-byculla/browse-menu/delivery
OR
Call +919137126325

GALETTE DES ROIS
LA FOLIE
At La Folie, this vanilla-and-rum classic gets a little bit of a facelift. Their traditional take on the frangipane is made, as Chef Sunjana Patel puts it, “(with) a blend of speciality Marcona and Mamra almonds for that extra sweetness and is infused with subtle notes of feve de tonka, cocoa nibs, cacao fruit wine and citrus zest.”

La Folie also doubles down on the crispy pastry by supercharging it with the textural crunch from a beautiful showering of crunchy chopped almonds that sit delicately atop their version of this cake. I mean, can I get an Oh La La!

₹3,200 - Come All (Whole)
24 Hour Preorder at : www.lafolie.in

GALETTE DES ROIS
Toujours
Chef Alpa Pereira of Toujours, “Love(s) bringing a little slice of France to Mumbai” and this is never more evident than in their traditional preparation of this French galette. “ It's so exciting to see how every year more people are keen on experiencing the galettes des rois.” she exclaims.

And it's easy to see why they would be, Toujours traditional take is crisp, flaky, buttery and bursting at the seams with a classic comforting almond frangipane.

₹1,800 - Come All (Whole)
Order at : https://toujours.co.in/product/galette-des-rois/
OR
Call/ Whatsapp: +91 9867676070

Chef Prateek Bhaktiani is the head pastry chef at Ether Atelier in Mumbai, and the editor of Cavities, a professional patisserie bulletin series.