This type of gangster des rois was also served all over the French southwest too. I was studying there back in those non-internet days in the late 1970s, and that was the only galette I knew. I was astonished to discover a whole different kind of galette in the North!
The "bean" was a small round plastic object that was usually a smiling moon, nothing like the plethora of ceramic cartoon & movie characters we can get in galettes today. I used to save them with the paper crown and send them to my French mom who left France in 1957. She enjoyed getting little reminders of her home country in the mail. 🙂❤️
I never made the connection between the galette and Saturn before! I'm much more familiar with the more garish King Cakes of New Orleans with their plastic babies hidden inside, which makes me wonder...Saturn is the Roman version of Cronus, who famously swallowed all his children save one (Zeus) immediately after birth. Cutting him open to find them feels much more Brothers Grimm than mythological. Then again, being slavishly faithful to the original story and employing powerful emetics when serving dessert to one's guests does seem much less appetizing. Happy New Year, Jamie.
I always always love your take on things and your knowledge of weird and fascinating historical (or as in this case mythological) facts and trivia always adds to my posts' interest. I love thinking that the bean inside the cake represented Cronus' baby.
I have never had the New Orleans' version of this but I do know that this recipe is super delicious. And, I am happy to say, pretty easy to make.
A very happy and prosperous 2024 to you, my dear friend.
yes, I'm making this this weekend, but am NOT putting baby jesus in because I do not want anyone breaking a tooth and suing me. we had those garish cakes growing up and mom was always screaming not to swallow anything by mistake
In my neighborhood, the big thing was money cakes-- nickels, dimes, and quarters wrapped in waxed paper and baked into the cake itself. No one worried about choking hazards in the 1970s.
now I can't find mine...maybe I already ate it all...anyway, there are two types, Belgian, and Swedish, evidently the Belgian is larger nugget type..so I'm guessing the smaller Swedish pearl sugar?
I LOVE that you were gifted madeleine pans and I hope you make all of my recipes! It will push me to do what I have wanted to do for a long time: create recipes for new flavors of madeleines! And you absolutely know that I am laughing about your internet yelling lol and while I am sorry that your internet use was curtailed it is often good to be forced to step back and take a break for a while. But I am glad your back. And no doubt in exchange for baking cakes and such for your mom lol!
This type of gangster des rois was also served all over the French southwest too. I was studying there back in those non-internet days in the late 1970s, and that was the only galette I knew. I was astonished to discover a whole different kind of galette in the North!
The "bean" was a small round plastic object that was usually a smiling moon, nothing like the plethora of ceramic cartoon & movie characters we can get in galettes today. I used to save them with the paper crown and send them to my French mom who left France in 1957. She enjoyed getting little reminders of her home country in the mail. 🙂❤️
I never made the connection between the galette and Saturn before! I'm much more familiar with the more garish King Cakes of New Orleans with their plastic babies hidden inside, which makes me wonder...Saturn is the Roman version of Cronus, who famously swallowed all his children save one (Zeus) immediately after birth. Cutting him open to find them feels much more Brothers Grimm than mythological. Then again, being slavishly faithful to the original story and employing powerful emetics when serving dessert to one's guests does seem much less appetizing. Happy New Year, Jamie.
I always always love your take on things and your knowledge of weird and fascinating historical (or as in this case mythological) facts and trivia always adds to my posts' interest. I love thinking that the bean inside the cake represented Cronus' baby.
I have never had the New Orleans' version of this but I do know that this recipe is super delicious. And, I am happy to say, pretty easy to make.
A very happy and prosperous 2024 to you, my dear friend.
I'm so glad I'm good for something! Although I suppose there would need to be five plastic babies in a king cake to accurately represent Cronus.
yes, I'm making this this weekend, but am NOT putting baby jesus in because I do not want anyone breaking a tooth and suing me. we had those garish cakes growing up and mom was always screaming not to swallow anything by mistake
In my neighborhood, the big thing was money cakes-- nickels, dimes, and quarters wrapped in waxed paper and baked into the cake itself. No one worried about choking hazards in the 1970s.
Hahaha
Omg Kathy! You make me laugh!!
This looks so good Jamie, and I have everything in the house to make it, including the pearl sugar!
I’ll be waiting to see yours!
I knew there was a reason I bought that sugar!
Haha I have had a box in my cabinet for years!
I can’t remember what I originally bought it for 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
I bought mine to make chouquettes!
now I can't find mine...maybe I already ate it all...anyway, there are two types, Belgian, and Swedish, evidently the Belgian is larger nugget type..so I'm guessing the smaller Swedish pearl sugar?
*galette des rois, of course - not "gangster" des rois 😁. My bilingual keyboard has trouble figuring out what I want to say sometimes!
Lol mine too!!
I love the simplicity of this vs the galette. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
You’re absolutely right. I never looked at it that way but it is a lot simpler to make!
Jamie 💫 Love this
Thank you! It’s surprisingly easy to make and super good!
I LOVE that you were gifted madeleine pans and I hope you make all of my recipes! It will push me to do what I have wanted to do for a long time: create recipes for new flavors of madeleines! And you absolutely know that I am laughing about your internet yelling lol and while I am sorry that your internet use was curtailed it is often good to be forced to step back and take a break for a while. But I am glad your back. And no doubt in exchange for baking cakes and such for your mom lol!