A galette des rois is two rounds of all-butter puff pastry sealed around a soft almond cream, and this version builds that cream on Bordier's Yuzu Butter. The French bake it in January for Epiphany, hiding a small charm inside so that whoever finds it wears the paper crown. The filling is refreshingly plain: melted butter, sugar, almond flour, a spoonful of flour, and eggs. Thirty minutes in the oven turns it deep gold, and the yuzu keeps the almond from turning heavy.
At a glance
- Difficulty: Advanced
- Serves: 6
- Active time: Not specified by Maison Bordier. Allow time to chill the assembled galette while the oven heats.
- Cook: 30 minutes at 185°C (365°F)
- Key ingredient: 125 g Bordier Yuzu Butter
Why this works
Yuzu is a knobbly East Asian citrus that tastes like a grapefruit crossed with a mandarin, sharper than lemon and far more floral. Jean-Yves Bordier added it to the range in 2006 after a trip to Japan, folding it into a lightly salted butter. Almond cream is rich by nature, and a plain frangipane can flatten out on the palate by the second slice. The yuzu cuts straight through that, and because it arrives in the butter rather than as juice or zest, it seasons the filling evenly without adding liquid that would loosen the cream.
The method is worth reading twice, because two small instructions carry most of the technique. The butter is melted rather than creamed, which means the cream is dense from the start. And it is mixed with a wooden spoon rather than a whisk, specifically so you do not incorporate air that would make the galette swell during baking. Air is the enemy here: it expands in the oven, inflates the filling, and forces the seam apart. A galette that bursts at the side has almost always been over-whisked.
Ingredients
Everything below is scaled for one galette serving six.
| Ingredient | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Pure butter puff pastry | 2 discs | 2 all-butter puff pastry rounds |
| Almond powder | 150 g | 5.3 oz almond flour, about 1½ cups |
| Bordier Yuzu Butter | 125 g | 4.4 oz, exactly 1 block |
| Sugar | 125 g | 4.4 oz, about ⅔ cup |
| Flour | 5 g | about 2 teaspoons |
| Eggs | 2 medium, plus 1 yolk | 2 medium eggs, plus 1 yolk |
| Milk | 1 teaspoon | 1 teaspoon |
| Salt | 1 pinch | 1 pinch |
Method
Step 1: Mix the yuzu almond cream
Put the butter in a bowl and melt it, either in the microwave or over a bain-marie. Stir in the sugar, then the almond powder and the flour. Beat the two eggs and add them, working everything together with a wooden spoon rather than a whisk, so you do not incorporate air that would make the galette swell during baking. Roll out the first pastry, leaving the parchment paper behind, and draw a circle around the edge with water.
Step 2: Fill, hide the charm and seal
Spread the yuzu almond cream inside that circle, using a pastry ring to smooth it out if you want a clean edge. Set the bean in place before you cover the filling with the second sheet of puff pastry. Press lightly around the filling with your finger so the two doughs adhere to each other, then move the galette somewhere cool while the oven preheats to 185°C (365°F).
Step 3: Glaze, score and bake
Brown the galette with the egg yolk, milk and salt mixture. Tickle the edges and make a design on the surface with the tip of a knife, taking care to cut a small hole in the center. Bake for 30 minutes at 185°C (365°F). Cool on a wire rack and serve warm.
Tips from our kitchen
- Let the butter cool before the eggs go in. Melted butter straight off the heat will scramble the eggs into pale threads. Give it a few minutes off the heat so it is liquid but not hot to the touch.
- The wooden spoon rule is not fussiness. A whisk aerates the cream, the air expands at 185°C, and the seam splits. If your filling looks pale and mousse-like, you have already whisked too much.
- Chill the assembled galette properly. Time in the refrigerator firms the butter in the puff pastry, which is what makes the layers lift instead of slumping. Warm, soft pastry bakes flat and greasy.
- Keep the glaze off the cut edge. Egg wash that runs down the side of the pastry glues the layers together and stops them rising. Brush the top only.
- The vent hole matters. Steam from the almond cream needs somewhere to go. Without it the filling pushes the lid up into a dome and then blows out at the weakest point on the seam.
- Score shallow. Cut through the top layer of pastry only, roughly a third of the way down. Cut all the way through and the cream leaks out and caramelizes onto the tray.
How to serve it
Serve it warm, in wedges, the afternoon it comes out of the oven. Nothing more is needed than a pot of good coffee, though a glass of cider is the Breton habit. Traditionally the youngest person at the table goes under it and calls out who gets each slice, which keeps the charm hunt honest. If you want to build a wider French butter tasting around it, our guide to choosing French butter covers how the flavoured butters differ and which ones bake well.
Where to buy Bordier Yuzu Butter in the US
The French Pantry ships Bordier butter across the United States in insulated overnight packaging, straight from the workshop in Brittany.
- Churned Yuzu Butter by Bordier (4.4 oz): lightly salted butter carrying the sharp, floral citrus of Japanese yuzu, added to the Bordier range in 2006.
You can also browse the full Maison Bordier collection for the rest of the flavoured range, along with the plain salted and unsalted blocks.
Frequently asked questions
How much Bordier Yuzu Butter do I need?
One block. Bordier butter is sold in 125 g blocks, which is 4.4 oz, and this recipe calls for exactly 125 g. If you plan to bake two galettes, buy two.
Can I use a different Bordier butter?
Yes. The almond cream works with any of the sweeter blocks, so Madagascar Vanilla gives a rounder, more traditional frangipane and the plain salted block gives you a straight classic. Keep the weight at 125 g whichever you choose.
Do I have to use store-bought puff pastry?
The recipe is written for two ready-made discs of all-butter puff pastry, which is what most French home cooks use for this. Check the label and avoid anything made with vegetable shortening, since the pastry flavour is half the point.
How should I store Bordier butter?
Keep it in the refrigerator in its wrapper and use it by the date on the pack. It freezes well for longer storage: wrap the block tightly and thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before baking with it.
Does the butter need to stay refrigerated in transit?
Bordier butter is a fresh, hand-churned product and ships cold. We pack it in insulated boxes with coolant so it arrives in good condition, and it should go into the refrigerator as soon as you unpack it.
Can the galette be made ahead?
Assemble it, glaze it and keep it cold, then bake it when you want to serve it. It is at its best warm from the oven, so baking ahead and reheating costs you some of the crispness in the pastry.
Related reading
- Bordier Butter: What It Is, Why Chefs Love It, and How to Use It
- How to Choose Your French Butter: A Buyer's Guide
- Madagascar Vanilla Butter Brioche
Recipe and photograph adapted from Maison Bordier, with thanks. The French Pantry is an authorized US retailer of Bordier butter.