three alternatives to the traditional pancake – Liberation
Come on, a little more effort, it will soon be the end of the tunnel. We are not talking about the fifth wave of the Covid but of bectance, of course, and more particularly of this period going roughly from December 15 of one year to January 15 of the next. Which consists, more or less, in never stopping slapping (and the tunnel is even longer for those who celebrated Hanukkah or Saint-Nicolas), between snacks and “secret santa” aperitifs before the holidays, Christmas Eve, Christmas lunch and dinner, New Year’s Eve but New Year’s Eve, New Year’s brunches and snacks, then, less than a week later, Epiphany.
Epiphany, in particular, is treacherous that one is never safe from having to celebrate it multiple times. There is the January 6 cake – this year, it falls on a Thursday -, but also the one that we share at work with colleagues, that of the sports club / theater / music / etc., That of friends, that that we will share with Grandma this weekend, that of the neighborhood association or the union … So much so that at the end, we can no longer see the almonds in paint, that the only idea of the frangipane makes us nauseous or even surprises ourselves with having murderous cravings in the puff pastry section of the supermarket – in short, ending the period without suffering from post-traumatic epiphanic shock syndrome is quite an achievement.
To avoid an overdose of frangipane, Release has selected three alternative pastries to the traditional pancake: a king’s cake, a sesame pancake and an unclassifiable and gourmet cake.
The prettiest: the cake of kings by Cyril Lignac
The cake of the kings is a great classic of Epiphany (especially in Provence) which we regret that it did not take precedence over the galette because it is more tender (thanks to its brioche side) and that it full of candied fruit. This year, the ultra-media pastry chef Cyril Lignac offers a very pretty cake of kings, shining like a jewel. Brioche dough with Charentes butter flavored with orange blossom, candied oranges, grains of sugar, pistachios and caramelized hazelnuts composing this very soft, almost moist even sweetness. Good value for money (especially given the crazy prices that some pancakes reach).
Individual cake: 4.50 euros, cake for 6 people: 30 euros. Available from January 2 to 23. List of shops here: https://www.gourmand-croquant.com/fr /
The most original: the Babka of kings with two sesames
She was on the verge of stepping on the podium for the prettiest cake, but its rather powerful taste of sesame finally ranks it among the most original. Under its tangles of fanfreluche-style puff pastry, the Babka des rois with sesame hides a base of butter brioche and a frangipane-style cream, with white and black sesame. Right out of the oven, a dash of maple syrup adds a treat. Good value for money there too.
Babka for 8 to 10 people: 36 euros. For 4 people: 16 euros. Available from January 2 to 30. Boutique at 65 rue Condorcet, 75009 Paris.
The most delicious: the François Daubinet x The French Bastard collab
When you open the box, you are a little confused: what is this thick cake, above covered with a macaronade, which looks neither like a brioche des rois nor a galette, but rather like a cake? nice loaf of rye bread? We slice a part and it’s a shot of sugar and flavors that we take in full taste buds: on a brioche base, quite compact (it even draws towards the cake), the pastry chef François Daubinet, who exercises usually at Fauchon and who signs this collaboration with the bakeries The French Bastards, poured a frangipane, touches of praline that explode in the mouth, pieces of raw almonds… dryness of the classic pancake. The result is rich, so you don’t have to cut too much of it to enjoy it (the cake for eight people can easily satisfy two more guests). A drizzle of a tea or an infusion.
Cake for 8 people, 50 euros. The French Bastards, 61 rue Oberkampf, 75 011 and 181, rue Saint-Denis, 75 002, Paris. Available on the weekends of January 8 and 9 and 15 and 16.
And if you prefer to bake your own, go here for the recipe for the cake of the kings, or there for that of the Pérouges pancake, without frangipane.