Heilige Drei Könige

So it's Heilige Drei Könige again. Holy Three Kings day. Epiphany. An extra day off work on the random day of January 6th. To top you up after having normally had two weeks off of work and then a few days of work in the New Year. Or in my case this year, one day. How nice is that.

Heilige Drei Könige is also an excuse to make a cake. A king cake. Galette des Rois. Now, we live 20 kilometers from the French border and untold numbers of French bakeries full of Galette des Rois at this time of year. Why make a cake? Because it has become a challenge! Last year I attempted to make a Galette des Rois and it ended up like this.

So this is how you assemble my pastry nemesis. You mix up an almond mixture, put it in the middle of a puff pastry circle (preferably a butter-based one from France), and put another circle on top to create the second picture. Looks beautiful, gel?

And then it will theoretically come out of the oven in the same shape, just puffier and browner. However, everything is not as it appears. Because THIS can happen.

Cue the grumpy face and expletives. It was still very tasty but hardly Instagram-worthy though it did make a showing as a goof-up. Makes me more likeable to show such things. And more authentic. But the likeable aspect is more appealing.

I'm sure the seal between the layers was faulty. I mean, obviously, right? However, how to create a better seal, well, that is beyond my realm of knowledge. Last year I used this tutorial and it was wonderful. But since I'm pouting and a bit grumpy I'm going to try a different tutorial this year, namely this one.

And now, into the breach!