Vegan King Cake (Galette des Rois)
King cake, also known as “Galette des Rois,” is a classic French pastry that consists of puff pastry filled with a sweet almond paste called frangipane. This vegan king cake tastes just as good as the original without the eggs!
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp vegan butter (homemade or store-bought), at room temperature
- 1/2 cup and 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
- 1 and 3/4 cup almond flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 8 ounces vegan puff pastry rolls
Instructions
Prepare the frangipane
- Cream the butter and sugar. Add the diced butter and sugar to a mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon, cream the butter with the sugar.
- Make the flax egg. In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flax seeds with the almond milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes or until it has thickened.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Next, add the almond flour, cornstarch, and flax egg to the creamed butter. Pour in the almond extract and vanilla extract.
- Mix until combined. Mix until it forms a very thick paste. At this point, you can taste the frangipane and add more almond or vanilla extract if you want.
Assemble the galette
- Cut two discs of puff pastry. Using the help of a round cake pan, cut two 8-inch discs of puff pastry. Arrange one disc on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Pipe the almond cream. Transfer the frangipane to a piping bag fitted with a large tip. Then, pipe the frangipane in a spiral evenly over the puff pastry disc, leaving about one inch of margin. At this point, you can press a porcelain figurine (fève) into the frangipane.
- Slightly wet the edges. Dip your finger in water and run your finger along the edges of the puff pastry. This will help seal both discs of puff pastry.
- Top with the second disc of puff pastry. Place the second puff pastry disc on top of the frangipane.
- Press to seal. Press down the sides using your fingers to seal the edges. This will prevent the filling from escaping during baking. Transfer the baking sheet containing the king cake to the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Flip the cake. After 15 minutes, remove from the freezer and carefully flip the king cake so the bottom ends on top. This is optional but helps enhance the look of your cake. Using a knife, flute the edges.
- Brush with milk. Next, brush the top of the galette with sweetened almond milk. This will give it a nice golden color when baking.
- Refrigerate. Transfer the king cake to the refrigerator and let it chill for 30 minutes.
- Brush once again. Remove from the refrigerator and brush the top of the cake a second time with almond milk.
- Decorate. For the decoration, you can be creative and score a geometrical pattern or draw round lines as I did there.
- Prick the top a few times. To prevent the puff pastry from rising or breaking, prick the top of the pastry 4-5 times using a thin knife. If you don’t do it, your king cake will have a lot of air inside, which you don't want.
- Bake. Finally, bake the king cake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
Notes
- Use thick puff pastry. Any puff pastry will work, but I recommend using a thick one for the best results. The one I am using is about 1/8-inch thick.
- Make it richer. For a more buttery, more decadent filling, add an extra tablespoon of butter.
- Let the galette chill in the refrigerator. Before baking, I recommend chilling the galette in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. The galette will rise more evenly and look better.
- Rotate the baking sheet. For an evenly golden brown color, make sure to rotate the baking sheet once halfway through baking.
- Brush with a simple syrup. To create a glossy finish, brush the galette with syrup. To do the syrup, bring to a boil 2 tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon of rum, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Let it simmer for 5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.
- Let it cool before serving. Straight from the oven, the filling will be very soft. Let the galette cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 Slice | Calories: 373 kcal | Carbohydrates: 29.3 g | Protein: 5 g | Fat: 26.8 g | Fiber: 1.9 g | Sugar: 13.3 g