Einkorn King Cake Recipe – A Delicious Ancient Grain Traditional Galette
Enjoy this ancient grain, dairy free tradition-inspired recipe of the traditional galette. It tastes as delicious as the original, and is much friendlier to gluten sensitive (non-celiac !), dairy intolerant people. The frangipane filling is just as flavorful, if not more! And the kids will enjoy picking a king or queen !
It’s the new year ! Happy 2025!
As you know, the season of Christmas does not finish on Christmas day. Of course, we have New Years’ Eve, and the 12 days of Christmas. And at the end of it, of course, the feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. In the ancient day – i.e. as I was a child – we would celebrate the end of Christmas time on Candlemas, i.e. February 2nd ( Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple). In our family, we take all the celebrations we can – along with their meaning.
As a French-American family, our family celebrates the Epiphany with the French traditional king cake. The Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, or Twelfth Night ( the Twelfth day of Christmas !), is basically the feast celebrating the three Wise Men bearing presents to Baby Jesus. In France, we don’t just celebrate it strictly on January 6th. You can really have King’s cake celebration all of January, since Christmas time ends at Candlemas. Just like you can have crêpes dinners any time before and on Mardi Gras ( literally Fat Tuesday). Celebration preceding Ash Wednesday the season of Lent ! ( as for Crêpes, stay tuned, I have a special, delicious dairy free recipe for you coming up!
No worries though! If that’s late for you, no problem: save it, pin it and you can try next year !
Kings cake is a celebration and a game
Not the colorful Louisiana cake
Just a note: we do not celebrate feast of the three kings the New Orleans way. My kings cake is not the colorful Mardi Gras king cake Louisiana is so famous for. And French don’t display a miniature plastic baby Jesus on the top of the cake either.
Although I haven’t tried it yet, I would love to. From what I understand, the Louisiana version is more similar to the other traditional Kingdom, which is made of brioche and candied fruit. I’m glad to know you can also try it in the carnival season, so I still have a chance this year ! In France, the King’s day season usually ends at the end of January.
Try the Traditional, original French king’s cake
We French make the Three Kings feast into a game. Traditionally the Kings cake is filled with a little collectible figure hidden in a thick filling and invisible under a puffed crust. One of the children hides under the table and blindly assigns each slice to people sitting around the table, including him or her. The crown goes to the one that finds the figure. If you have enough crowns, the winner gets to chose his partner, a king or queen, who also gets a crown.
Since I can’t find one a cake I like enough in the United States, and I sometimes have trouble digesting butter oil seed oil filled puff pastry, I experimented a tradition-inspired version of the traditional pie with a dairy free almond – or Frangipane paste filling.
What is different about my recipe ?
Do you want to try an almond King’s Cake made with ancient grains and dairy free? Whether you chose to opt for a butter puff pastry (which you can find at Whole foods or, before Christmas, at Trader Joe’s), or for a thin ancient grain crust (if you are not Celiac!), you will enjoy this way to celebrate the Three Kings ! Have fun biting this deliciously almond filled treat for which I tried to replicate the original baking processes as closely as possible. Now relax and have fun picking a King or Queen with friends and family! Happy feast of the Epiphany!
King’s cake is made of butter, butter and butter
Basically, Galette des Rois or Kings Cake is made of puff pastry ( a lot of butter and flour), baker’s cream ( which is full of milk and flour) and almond meal mixed with confectioner’s sugar and eggs. In short, it is not food restrictions friendly. But can we improve it and go around some food restrictions? YES! This is the bet I made. And to by great satisfaction, it worked!
Better Butter than Vegetable Oil
I would rather eat a Galette made with butter-based puff pastry than processed vegetable oils. Processed oils include peanut, soy, corn, safflower, pure ( as in not extra virgin) olive oil canola oil, and shortening. Why? Because of their terrible chemical extraction process. If you are not yet aware, these are one of the #1 cause of health problems in the United States. Only check this excellent book Dark Calories by by Catherine Shanahan MD for excellent, eye opening explanations!
Don’t fall for the trap. Seed oils are wrongly called “vegetable” oils. In fact are made of seeds (safflower, sunflower), grains (corn) and beans (soy, peanuts). Their extraction process and methods used to make them taste neutral are horrendously chemical. Therefore, if they taste neutral for cooking, I’d rather work around a taste and get non toxic, nutrition intense meals. If you don’t, and can’t fathom baking with extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, or even butter, I get it. However, be aware that habits and tastes can change.
Healthy oils
Cold pressed avocado oil, cold pressed coconut oil, cold pressed canola oil (not for cooking) and mostly extra virgin olive oil are my go to. Even for baking !
Grass fed butter is best in puff pastries. If you prefer making the cake with puff pastry, feel free. The process of making is basically the same, except for making dough. And my filling is dairy free!
An Alternative to puff pastry
This recipe is not kings cake made with an Einkorn version of puff pastry. I just don’t have the energy. Rather, I make an extra thin dough I also make for Christmas Strudel. It is thin enough to work as an alternative to puff pastry for galette. Careful though, make sure your little figure is thin enough to hide!
The dough is thin and not made to become puffed. However it will have a nice crunch!
Fruity option
Since it does not have the fluffy consistency of a puff dough, the first time I made this cake I decided to add some fun layer of fruit and make it a bit thicker. For the occasion I mixed ground raspberry and bits of pistachio. I made one with raspberry pistachio, and one without, to see the difference. I also considered an apple cranberry sauce layer instead, perhaps next time!
The King’s cake turned out great with the raspberry pistachio layer, and without. I like to have the option of adding a fruity layer, it changes the tastes a tidbit and makes it more fun!
Best king cake recipe: The steps
This recipe is not what would call a “easy recipe”. It takes some time and effort, but it is well worth it! It tastes fantastic and is easy on the stomach.
Step 1: Make the dough ( if applicable and if you don’t use rolls of puff pastry)
In a large bowl, make the dough using all purpose einkorn flour or fresh milled whole einkorn flour, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, warm water and extra virgin olive oil. Cover and let rest for about an hour in a warm place ( or until you are finished with baker’s cream and filling). Be aware, no dough rise will happen.
Step 2: Make the Baker’s cream.
In a small pot on the stove, turn on the fire on low heat, then mix the almond milk with brown sugar and vanilla extract. Bring to a boil.
In a separate bowl, whisk the yolk with the rest of the sugar, add in the tapioca flour and mix thoroughly. Pour the content of the bowl into the milk in the pot. Whisk the whole constantly for two minutes to let it thicken. Turn off the fire and set aside.
Step 3 Make the almond filling.
– For that, I use half coconut oil, which I melt, and olive oil. Both mixed together contain about the same amount of saturated fat, which I gives the filling its consistency.
– In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the confectioner’s sugar and the oils, the egg and almond meal, amaretto (or bitter almond flavor) and orange blossom water. Optionally, for a fruitier flair, add an orange zest. Amaretto and orange blossom water really give the filling its amazing, typical flavor.
Step 4: Put the Kings Cake together
Spread the dough into 9-10 inches very thin disks between two layers of parchment paper. Use a round cake mold to draw the disks.
To do this, the easiest is to cut a large piece of baking sheet or parchment paper ( I use this one), flour it and roll the dough as thin as you can with a rolling pin.
Pour the filling. On the bottom disk, pour the almond filling, leaving 1 inch of the edges empty . Add the ceramic figure to the filling, make sure it is well covered so it won’t stick out under the upper layer of the dough.
Lay the upper layer of dough over the filling.
Delicately take the second disk and lay it over the other disk (if you are afraid to break it or deform, turn your parchment paper around, adjust over the first disk and filling, and peel off the parchment paper.
Step 5: Seal the cake
Whether it’s the puff option of the Einkorn cake, the principle is the same.
Use your fingers to pinch and turn the dough inward to seal.: To close down the cake so the filling does not “escape”, pinch upper and lower crusts together with your fingers and turn upward then inward, toward the inside of the cake. Repeat all around the cake until both sides of the seal meet. Then pinch all around the cake with a fork.
Step 6. Give the dough texture
With the tip of a very light pairing knife, without piercing the dough, draw some lights lines across the dough, every 1/4 inch or so.
Step 7. Get the dough golden brown
The secret of a golden brown, or just golden dough is the egg wash. Crack an egg and separate the yolk. add a tsp of water to the yolk and mix. Spread across the dough with a pastry brush. Then bake the cake in preheated oven! Voilà!
Step 8. Cook
Cook for 40 minutes , then let it cool down and serve lukewarm or cold. Vanilla icecream or raspberry sorbet, along with a few fresh blueberries, taste great on the side. Bon appétit!
Other Recipes with Einkorn
If you want to learn more about the EInkorn ancient grain, look at my post Pause the Pizza, Try a Tomato Tarte!
Wants some recipes with einkorn? Look at the Pause the Pizza, Try a Tomato Tarte!, Deep Dish Einkorn Quiche.
Want to try it out and know where to purchase Einkorn or other tools and types of ingredients? Check my page What I Use and where to Purchase it
Celiac alternative
You can potentially use the recipe with the thin dough recipe alternative using a King Arthur’s cup for cup Gluten free flour, but know that I have not tested it yet. If you do, make sure to let me know what you thought !
Is it the healthiest desert? Of course not. But I am trying to make it more inclusive and food restriction friendly. So… I hope you give it more than a A for effort!
Here’s to the King or Queen of today’s party ! Bon appétit!
French Almond Kings Cake
Do you want to try an almond King's Cake made with ancient grains and dairy free? Whether you chose to opt for a butter puff pastry, if you can, or for a thin ancient grain crust (if you are not Celiac!), you will enjoy this way to celebrate the Three Kings ! Have fun biting this deliciously almond filled treat for which I tried to replicate the original baking processes as closely as possible.
Ingredients
Almond Filling
- For the pastry cream:
- 30 g sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 140 g almond meal ( either purchased or blended from raw almonds with your dry blender bowl from your VItamix or other blender)
- One egg
- 70 g confectioners sugar
- One teaspoon Amaretto (to taste) or bitter almond extract
- A mix of 60 g soft coconut oil with 30 g extra virgin olive oil ( melt a part and mix to make a cream)
- 2 tsp orange blossom water
Dough
- 250 all purpose einkorn flour
- 130 warm water
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
Baker's Cream
- 130 ml almond or oat milk, unsweetened
- 20g tapioca flour
- 30g sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1) Make the dough ( if applicable and if you don't use rolls of puff pastry)
In a bowl, make the dough with all purpose einkorn flour, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, vinegar, warm water and extra virgin olive oil. Cover and let rest for about an hour ( or until you are finished with baker(s cream and filling).
- 2) To make the Baker's cream
In a small pot on the stove, turn on the fire on low, then mix the almond milk with 15g sugar ( one tbsp) and vanilla extract (2 tsp). Bring to a boil.
In a separate bowl, whisk the yolk with the rest of the sugar (15g), add in the tapioca flour (20g) and mix thoroughly. Pour the content of the bowl into the milk in the pot. Whisk the whole constantly for two minutes to let it thicken. Turn off the fire and set aside.
- 3) For the almond filling:
In a pan, melt the coconut oil. Then mix with olive oil in a bowl.
In the bowl of your standing mixer equipped with a paddle, mix together the confectioner's sugar with the oils. Add in the egg and almond meal, and mix until smooth.
Add in amaretto (or bitter almond flavor) and orange blossom water.
Then incorporate the baker's cream. Set aside.
- 4) Turn on the oven and set at 350°F. Cut a large piece of parchment paper ( I use this one), flour it and roll the dough as thin as you can with a rolling pin. Separate two pieces and use a round cake mold of around 9 inches to draw a disk.
- 5) On the bottom disk, pour the almond filling, leaving 1 inch of dough empty . Add the the fève ( a little ceramic character you can buy online; the best best being on Etsy!) if you want to share the King's cake with loved one and chose a king/queen (in this case, make sure you have a cardboard crown available!). Make sure the fève is flat and cover it with filling.
- 6) Delicately take the second disk and lay it over the other disk (if you are afraid to break it or deform, turn your parchment paper around, adjust over the first disk and filling, and peel off the parchment paper.
- 7) Seal the cake: using your own fingers, pinch the side of the dough and turn it upward toward the center of the cake, just enough to close. To this little by little all around the disk up until the first seal meets the last. If you have letfover dough, you can decorate your cake, for example by making a flower for the center.
- 8) GIve the dough texture: WIth the tip of a light pairing knife, without piercing the dough, draw some lights lines accross the dough, every 1/4 inch or so. Do it in three different directions across the dough, for example. Or any way you want, since it is a decoration.
- 9) Crack an egg and separate the yolk, reserve the white for another project. In a bowl, mix the yolk with a tbsp of water and use a brush to spread on the whole surface of the cake.
- 10) Cook for 40 minutes , then let it cool down and serve lukewarm or cold.
