Saturday, January 8, 2011

La galette des rois









“La galette des Rois” (the cake or "wafer" of the Kings) is a cake celebrating the Epiphany and traditionally sold and consumed a few days before and after January 6th. In modern France, the cakes can be found in most bakeries during the month of January.

A figurine, “la fève”, which can represent anything from a car to a cartoon character, is hidden in the cake and the person who finds the trinket in their slice becomes king for the day. Originally, “la fève” was literally a broad bean (fève), but were replaced in 1870 by a variety of figurines made out of porcelain. These figurines have become popular collectibles and can often be bought separately.

A special thanks to Emilia, who prepared the galette with the ingredients that Beth and Willy brought back from France and found porcelain figurines. The celebration was enjoyed by all. To ensure a random distribution of the cake shares, several students placed themselves under the table and named the recipient of the cake slice indicated by Emilia and Elodie LeNezet-Soule.