Thought for Food

Elizabeth — author of the new memoir of food and romance in the most beautiful city in the world, Lunch in Paris — recently received a gift for the ages: the recipe for the traditional French cake that is served on Galette, the feast of the Epiphany. The cake, she writes,

is a dense almond cream called frangipane, tucked between two layers of puff pastry. Inside the cake is hidden a tiny figurine – la fève – originally a broad bean. He who finds the fève is king for a day – paper crown and everything.

Ah! It it the pastry forefather of New Orleans’ beloved King Cake. And her description brings back a delicious memory: many years ago, my family and I spent New Year’s Eve in New Orleans. One day, we went to a French bakery and bought a Galette cake and it was so heavenly that we ate it with our bare hands right there on the street! (Perhaps I’m exaggerating.)

And I found la fève and fell deeply in love with New Orleans and together we lived happily ever after….

(Again, I may be embellishing. Apologies. But the power of the Galette cake is just that strong. So strong that for many Carnival seasons in New Orleans I searched high and low for this very special King Cake but had no words to describe it, merely a taste memory fading by the day. And now! I can make it at home. For it just so happens that M. has some homemade puff pastry in the freezer that he demands I make use of. Only doing my part.)