On the 6th of January we celebrate the Twelfth Night. For the occasion, French people are baking a special pie stuffed with frangipane (an almond based cream). Tradition has it that we hide a lucky charm inside the Twelfth Night cake. Before the degustation, a child is hiding below the table and designate whom will have which piece of cake. The person whom will find the lucky charm in his piece will be the King or Queen of the day and will have to wear a lovely paper crown.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients (for 4 to 6 persons):
- 500 gr of puff pastry (ready rolled if you want to save time)
- 200 gr of almond powder
- 150 gr of butter
- 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk for the decoration
- 125 gr of caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon of rum
- A lucky charm or a bean (optional)
For the frangipane, melt the butter and mix it with the almond powder, the sugar, the two eggs and the rum.
Roll out half of the pastry in a disc shape. Spread the frangipane on the pastry. Leave a 2cm clean strip from the edge of the puff pastry and dampen it with water (it will help stick the two discs of pastry together). Hide a lucky charm or a bean in the frangipane.
Roll out the second half of the pastry. It should be with the same shape and size of the first one. Put the second pastry disc on top of the first one and stick them together on the edge.
To give a golden colour to the Twelfth Night cake, brush the pastry with the remaining egg yolk.
Put the cake into the oven for around 35 minutes at thermostat 180 degrees until it has a golden brown colour.
You can eat the Twelfth Night cake warm or cold if it has the time to cool before being eaten!
Happy New Year 2011!!
