‘galette des rois’ with filo & almond & chestnut cream

• beat the butter with the sugar until creamy, add whole eggs, vanilla and almond extracts, salt and beat again, add chestnut cream and finally almond powder and beat until smooth (do not add chopped candied chestnuts or almonds yet) and chill in the refrigerator
• cut your rectangular filo sheets (mine measure 30 cm x 40 cm each) into squares (30 cm x 30 cm) and the remaining strip (30 cm x 10 cm) into 3 smaller squares (10 x 10 cm each) and keep covered with baking paper and a damp kitchen cloth until ready to fill
• melt the butter for brushing each filo sheet (approximately 10 grams or 2 tsp per sheet of filo dough used)
• preheat oven to 200°C
• use a paper template or a small square plate 10 cm x 10cm) and lay it on your work surface, lay the filo sheet on top (the square template in the middle) and brush the top surface with melted butter
• add the almond and chestnut cream in the middle in a square shape, sprinkle with some chopped candied chestnuts (or chopped roasted almonds)

*add one charm or a well-washed and scrubbed coin in one piece (this is the tradition)

• fold the filo sheet over the cream filling from both sides, then fold over the top and bottom sides towards the middle, brush with melted butter, flip over and add 2 smaller filo squares on top (to thicken it), each brushed with butter and crinkle the last small third sheet and place in the middle (like a little nest for the candied chestnut or almond that you will add later to avoid burning it while baking)
• sprinkle with different types of sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and crispy
• add the candied chestnut (or candied roasted almond in the middle in the little crinkled filo nest (5 minutes before completely baked), then remove from the oven and let cool
• assemble all pieces together and serve at room temperature or reheated in a very hot oven for 5 minutes with a paper-crown to be worn by the winner of the charm/coin) …

note 1 : you can make the individual ‘galette des rois’ in advance and freeze them before baking, simply let thaw 5-10 minutes before baking in a hot oven and do not refrigerate the cooked & baked ‘galette des rois’ or the filo dough will get soft & soggy, simply leave on the kitchen counter !

note 2 : you can make your own paper crowns by using shiny gift bags that you will cut out, then glue 2 shiny sheets together (to make it thicker), place a printed paper template on top, cut-out with scissors or a cutter and ruler and staple the ends !

note 3 : if you prefer using regular puff-pastry, just click here and make the full recipe by replacing the 180 grams of filo dough and 90 grams of butter with 450-500 grams of puff-pastry dough and use the same cream filling !