Recipe: Galette des rois with chocolate ganache
After last week’s traditional galette des rois, I wanted to try a more original recipe without almonds (read what a galette is, if you don’t know it). I am a chocolate addict and, oh, what a coincidence, in a magazine I found a recipe of a galette des rois with chocolate ganache by Nicolas Cloiseau of “La maison du chocolat” in Paris. 
This is the result, which is inspired by that recipe. If you have the chance, you should really get the 60% Kuruba dark chocolate and 37% Monsera milk chocolate that are suggested in the recipe. The chocolate here is used to make a particular ganache which is then cooked and thickened with cornstarch (sort of like a pastry cream). 
As for any product with puff pastry, it is very important to respect the rest times of the dough, especially the ones before baking. If the gluten in the dough is not “relaxed” enough, the puff pastry might not rise properly and the decoration on the top will not be visible.
Galette des rois with chocolate ganache
Print recipe
Ingredients
Crust
| 300g | Puff pastry |
Chocolate ganache
| 90g | Heavy cream |
| 90g | Whole milk |
| 70g | Dark chocolate (60%) |
| 30g | Milk chocolate (37%) |
| 7g | Cornstarch |
| 10g | Egg (beaten and weighed) |
| 10g | Unsalted butter |
Egg wash
| 1 | Egg yolk |
Directions
Chocolate ganache
1
Mix the cornstarch with 15g of milk. Set aside.
2
Coarsely chop the dark and milk chocolate and put them in a bowl
3
Bring the heavy cream and remaining 75g of milk to a boil
4
Pour half of the milk and cream mixture on the chocolate and start whisking from the centre to emulsify
5
With a whisk, start from the centre of the bowl to emulsify the ganache
6
Add the remaining milk and whisk until incorporated
7
When the ganache is at about 35° (i.e. not hot), incorporate the diced butter
8
Add the 10g of egg to the milk-cornstarch mixture
9
Add the egg-milk-cornstarch mixture to the ganache and put everything back in a saucepan on medium heat
10
Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens. Let boil for about one minute.
11
Pour the ganache in a thin layer in a large container, cover with plastic film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
12
Roll out the puff pastry (after the 6 folds, you can roll it out in two directions, turning it 90° each time) to a large 3mm-thick rectangle.
13
Using a lid or any round object, gently cut two 24cm rounds of puff pastry with a pointed knife (the top should ideally be slightly bigger than the bottom)
14
Flip the bottom round, place it on parchment paper and pipe a spiral of ganache on the round, leaving a 3cm edge
15
Remember to put your "fève", a small object that is not to be eaten (and is NOT made of plastic!). Avoid putting it in the centre, otherwise there will be no "surprise" effect when cutting the galette.
16
Brush the edge with water
17
Place the top round on the bottom one, covering completely the cream and trying to match the edges as much as possible. (Tip: the puff pastry must be cold enough to be handled easily; you can move the top round by folding it in half first)
18
Make sure the top part adheres to the bottom one, by pressing slightly with your fingers all around the edge.
19
Press well a second time to ensure the top part adheres to the bottom part (don't be afraid to leave your finger marks)
Assembling the galette
20
Adjust the shape of the galette by cutting uneven parts
21
Decorate the side of the galette by making an inward mark with the back of a knife blade every 2cm, then flip the galette so that the top becomes the bottom (important! This way you will decorate the smoother part)
22
Brush completely the top with the egg wash and make a small hole in the centre of the galette with the tip of a knife. This will prevent the puff pastry from rising excessively and cracking.
23
Make a decoration on the top with the tip of a pointed knife. Make sure not to cut the puff pastry completely otherwise the dough will crack while baking. Also make 5-6 small holes in the decoration lines to make sure the air can escape and provide a proper rise. Store in the fridge for 30 minutes.
24
Mark the decoration lines a second time with the tip of the knife.
25
Preheat the oven at 200°C and start baking for around 20 minutes letting the temperature fall to 180°. Finally, let the oven reach 160° C and bake for 25-30 more minutes, until the galette becomes golden brown and crispy.
Note
- The egg wash should be used before making the decoration to ensure the lines are visible and of a different colour in the baked product.
- Remember that the scraps of puff pastry cannot be mixed together to make a ball and rolled out for a high-rising product such as the galette. Nevertheless you can put them one on top of the other (to keep the layers intact) and roll them out to make flat products such as fruit tarts or a napoleon.
