There is nothing I'm going to miss about January.
Nothing.
Well except, maybe.... Les Galettes des Rois, (King's Cake).
Of course it's food related!
This is a typical Galette des Rois with an almond flavored filling called frangipane. It's one of our favorites along with the apple and chocolate versions, and it's sold during the entire month of January. Because, you know, we haven't eaten enough sweets and desserts since December....October.
Anyway, what makes this cake so fun and interesting is its potential choking hazard. Baked inside the cake is a small token/figurine called a fève. Many people, both young and old collect fèves, and as you can see, I've been collecting for a few years....
The tradition where I live says it's the youngest at the table (usually a child) who decides who gets which slice of cake. The child sits under the table and calls out someone's name, and they get a slice, and so on and so forth. Anyway, whoever gets the token has the honor of putting on the crown and is named "King" or "Queen." But more importantly, they get to buy the next cake. Sucker!
Here are some of my favorites:
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| Fawkes (Fumseck in the French) for all HP fans. |
And this one just creeps me out for some reason.
Yuck.
Yuck.
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| Is it just me, or does it look like a pair of boy parts and eyeballs? Yuck. Just, yuck. |
Now of course, a cake like this would NEVER make it in the States. These little figurines fail the small parts test, and the fear of choking or getting sued is off the charts.
But around here, everyone knows what to expect when they buy the cake and kids are warned to not be stupid and take care while eating it. And if they're anything like my kids, (impatient) they just pull off the top of their slice to see if the token is in there and pick it out with their fingers.
Anyway, last week my family enjoyed our last Galette des Rois and guess who got the token? Yep, ME! I even took pictures!
Peek-a-boo!
And what do you know, I didn't choke or anything. :P
Now, give me that crown!
Now, give me that crown!
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| I think the crown suits me, matches my eyes...or something. ;) ****** |
Is it similar to the threepenny piece in the Christmas pudding? Those tokens look great fun!
ReplyDeleteHi Sally, I've never had Christmas pudding, but it does sound pretty similar. :)
DeleteUsed to be a silver coin in the Christmas pudding. Now they don't make them. Portugal has banned trinkets in one of their traditional cakes because of the choking hazard.
ReplyDeleteMy sister used to send me a King's Cake from New Orleans that has a little plastic baby hidden inside. Never like the cake that much but my kids loved the mystery of who would get the baby.
ReplyDeleteGood you didn't choke, that would cause no joke. Never ate anything before with stuff inside. Glad horrible January for you took a ride.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right. The kids in America are babied way more than they are in other countries. I wonder if that affects them as adults. Maybe it's why I see so many men these days who have what I would call "Peter Pan Syndrome." I realize I'm not a psychologist, but seriously, the desire to never grow up expressed by so many co-workers and people I bump into on a daily basis is hard to ignore. It's weird too when a forty year old man has failed to launch and sits around after work painting little miniatures with a brush and could give a crap about saving for retirement. "I never want to grow up." Yup, I blame too much coddling.
ReplyDeleteThe child sits under the table?! Do they let him come out to eat eventually? lol Thanks for the pics, and the fun info. I hope you get your crown! :)
ReplyDeleteI had idea about this. Sounds like fun. Then again, when the collection builds up, you realize just how many cakes you've eaten. I may not want to remember that.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on January. Ours is ridiculously dry this year...
Hey David, this is your cake, King Cake!
DeleteAt least you know there is something lurking there and are prepared.
ReplyDeleteSorry, your post didn't show up in my Feedly reader today, along with a dozen others. Not sure what is up...
I think this would only interest me if inside the cake was another smaller cake. I think I may have just invented a new dessert.Although i suppose every cake has more cake inside it, so maybe not.
ReplyDeletemood
How cute! I always wanted to try King's cake. I remember as a child, my mom make money cake a few times, but kids really did swallow the coins!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like fun!
ReplyDeleteSorry you hate January. I love January!! It's cold. It's quiet. It's dark...well, honestly the only month I don't like is August, but I don't like hot, humid weather.
I may have heard of this tradition in France before! So completely adorable, and it makes sense to just warn kids not to eat so unbidden, duh. We don't know the meaning of restraint here in the U.S. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteBut, you've made this little story sound so good, I would have assumed January was a delightful month for you! You do have a knack for spinning tales, ya know? ;)
Thanks all of you for stopping in! You guys are awesome. And now that Helluary is over, I'll be sure to visit and catch up with everyone. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on looking forward to February. And that crown is just lovely. :)
ReplyDeleteWhy, yes! I have eaten a King's Cake, just a couple weeks ago! I really wish I knew how to post a picture in the comments, because I'm sure you'd laugh. It looked nothing like the ones in your pictures.
ReplyDeleteMy daughters collaborated on it for extra credit in French class (they have the same teacher, though in different grades). The almond filling ... well, it escaped the cake and made a break for it across the pan. Not a pretty sight.
Sounds like a wonderful tradition, Elise!
ReplyDeleteMy aunt bakes those! She lived for years in Louisiana.
ReplyDeleteBut you're right. In America, it would be on every TV channel and there would quickly be legislation against the killer cakes- not only can kids choke, but they would be encouraging obesity in children. Goodness. When did we stop using common sense?
Sometimes food is the only good thing about the world.
ReplyDeleteExpecting people to not be stupid and be aware of what they eat? Now that's just ridiculous.
I am now craving a king's cake, choke hazard be damned :)
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