I’m just lying in wait for the cake…too much butter batter (just kidding, I got zilch!).
Well, mama is just about to bake today. I think she gave in and is using a fava bean, hoping that she gets no dental bills from her friends who might mis-bite the gâteaux!
Hey, that’s funny, gatto is cat in Italian and, with an accent changed to the second syllable, sounds like cake in French…go figure, haha.
So this gatto is waiting for her taste of the gateaux.
Hmmm…why do I think it might be a long wait?
Mama made a half cake because our family is small. Just fold over the one circle of puff pastry and crimp the edges…
RECIPE:
1 cup/100g almond flour
4 ounces (150g) soft butter
¾ cup/150g sugar
A pinch of salt
A grate of orange or tangerine zest
3 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla
Half a jigger of rum
½ cup grilled almonds, ground very fine
2 boxes of pure butter puff pastry
A broad bean or if you are worried about someone breaking a crown, a raisin or too-big-to-bite little figurine
Heat the oven to 400F/200C.
In a mixing bowl, mix the almond flour, soft butter, sugar, salt, zest, two of the eggs, vanilla, rum and ground almonds to a smooth dough.
Lay one round of puff pastry on a baking sheet, keep the second one in the fridge. If the puff pastry circle is too large for the baking sheet, use a tarte pan as your measuring size and cut the puff pastry to that size circle.
Spread the almond mixture evening over the circle, leaving almost an inch of border.
Place the chilled puff pastry circle over the filling and press down the edges with your fingers, taking care not to tear the dough. You might use fork tines to press the dough together, then cut carefully around the circle so that the edges match up.
With a sharp knife, make any pattern you like in the cold top dough, being careful not to cut through the dough (as mama did, haha).
Bake at 200C/400F for 10-15 minutes, then lower the heat to 185C/375F and bake another 8-10 minutes until very golden. Let cool before cutting.
Now if I can just wangle a little crumb out of mama….hey, it’s just another kind of kibble made with lots of butter, right?
Thanks for the recipe Loulou. We will save it
Very rich, but small slices are so good.
We hope you get a taste of cake, Loulou.
I got a bit of the butter on mama finger…gee, thanks, mama.
I got a lick of butter, gee THANKS, mama!
That absolutely sounds – and looks – like PURE HEAVEN!!!!!!! Thanks for your Mama’s recipe.
Hugs, Teddy
It is so, so good, and the puff pastry is really nummy. Mama used to make hers but in France, the pure butter store-boughten is great.
Your posts are making me hungry, Loulou.
Well, the gateaux des rois are sold everywhere, but mama likes homemade…
Ooooh – they ate the last of the (Picard) King Cake last night – and I got a SMALL tidbit of it. And before, a neighbor gave us 2 tins of caviar – so THEY had that on toast. I got a bit of doggie paté. Harrumph.
CAVIAR! Wow, red or black, mama wants to know.
Thank you to your mama for the recipe. I hope you got some, but not the piece with the bean. 🙂 XO
No, our neighbor got the bean and was tickled pink.
That sure looks fabulous and it sounds yummy too!
And if you get the bean, you wear a paper crown for a day.
Hope you have a good Twelfth Night celebration. How long til Mardi Gras ?
YES, and how long until SUMMER???? Mardi Gras this year is February 16, Shrove Tuesday. Will blog about it I think as I would like to know more. Mya’s mama lived in New Orleans and knows all about it. Maybe I’ll ask Mya to give us info.