Piece of life
I was finally able to rent the book “Galette“, by pastry chef Christophe Felder, from the library. I had been waiting for it for a while and clearly I was not the only one, considering the long wait. Anyway, it was finally my turn.
As you already know, I have a little trouble with King’s Cake variations from its classical version. But after my first successful attempt last year, I was tempted to try again this year. The all-chocolate Kings Cake immediately caught my attention, with cocoa puff pastry, chocolate frangipane and candied orange peel. It did not took too long to decide to try this recipe.
About the Chocolate and Candied Orange King’s Cake
This is the first time I prepared a classic puff pastry dough and even more a cocoa one. However it has gone well overall [click here for the recipe]. I decided to go for the full challenge by making the cocoa puff pastry, but the filling with match well with a classic puff pastry, homemade or bought (if you are up to make it yourself, follow the step-by-step recipe available on the blog].
Christophe Felder uses “chocolate caviar.” It was the first time I heard about it. According to my research, these are small chocolate balls obtained by a molecular cooking technique. I couldn’t find anywhere to buy it, and I did not have time to go into this adventure, so I managed without it. However, I added a few more candied oranges.
At last, to answer the question that everyone is probably asking: is it or is it not a Kings Cake? Well, we definitely enjoyed it and I frankly had the sensation of eating a King’s Cake, so Kings Cake it is [in my modest opinion]!
Let’s get organized
As usual, if you prepare your own puff pastry, it must be prepared in advance. You can make it 2 to 3 days before [hey, you can also buy a ready one]. I usually prepare it early, and I froze it. In that case take it out of the freezer the day before and let it thaw in the refrigerator.
The frangipane is fast to prepare, about 20 minutes. It can easaly be done on the day you will bake the Kings cake, but you can also prepare it in advance and keep it in the refrigerator. Actually you can also froze it in its final shape and place it frozen on your dough.
Chocolate King’s Cake (“Nectar chocolat orange” by Christophe Felder)
Ingredients
- 400 g cocoa puffy pastry (ou plain)
Pour la frangipane
- 70 g almond powder
- 120 g milk
- 65 g whipped cream 35%
- 15 g butter soft
- 65 g sugar
- 8 g cornstarch
- 8 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 30 g candied orange peel small dices
- 4 g rum
Pour la dorure
- 1 egg yolk
Instructions
- On a floured working surface, roll out your puff pastry to a height of about 2 mm, and shape 2 rectangles of the same size (or another shape of your choice). Set aside in the refrigerator until the moment of preparing the galette.
For the frangipane
- Pour the milk into a saucepan, heat it.
- In a bowl, mix the sugar, the cornstarch and the cocoa previously sifted. Add the cold cream and mix well to get a paste.
- When the milk is heated, pour it over the previous mixture. Mix and return it to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, non-stop stirring, until the mixture thickens and takes on a custard like consistency.
- Add the butter. Melt down the chocolate in a microwave oven (or bain-marie) and also add it to the mix.
- Finish the frangipane by adding the rum, the almond powder and the candied orange dices. Let it cool down.
Assembling
- Take out the dough from the refrigerator. Roll out again any pasta that has somehow shrunk.
- Place the first dough on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Spread the filling evenly over the dough surface, leaving a free border of about 2 cm.
- Put the bean in the filling, at the edge limit (to take less risk of cutting it).
- Moisten the dough edges with a small amount of water, then, place the second dough on top. Seal well both doughs by pressing the edge with your fingers.
- Take the cake to the refrigerator during 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Take the cake out. Turn it over to make it more attractive (optional). Brush the cake surface with the egg yolk. Make a small hole in the center to allow the moisture to escape during cooking. With a sharp knife, make the decoration of your choice on the top of the cake (you need to cut but be careful to avoid cutting through the dough).
- Cook it for about 40 minutes.
