Galette Des Rois a la Pistache (Pistachio Kings Cake)

This Galette des Rois (Kings' cake) is filled with a sweet pistachio mixture. The traditional Epiphany dessert is made with almond cream, called frangipane, so this was an obvious substitution. The green pistachios give the treats a nice color contrast, and work well with the flaky crust.

I got some Harry Potter fèves last time I went to Paris, which you can see in these pictures. The girls are obsessed with the series, so when I brought them out for the photos they went nuts. If you were to serve individual sized galettes, as I have done here, you should hide a fève in one of the dishes and let each person choose a plate at random. Just make sure to hide the fève well so that the naughty ones who peek can't figure out where you hid it. Whoever finds the fève is Queen or King for the day!

Chocolate Orange King Cake (Galette des Rois)

La galette des Rois, or king's cake, is made every year to celebrate Epiphany. For those who don't know, epiphany is a Christian holiday that celebrates the Magi visiting baby Jesus. January 6th is the official day of Epiphany, but in France, we usually celebrate it on the Sunday between the 2nd and the 8th.  

This delicious treat is a flaky puff pastry with a sweet filling. The traditional filling is a simple almond cream, or frangipane, but this year I felt like a change. To the basic frangipane recipe I added melted chocolate and Grand Marnier (or orange extract for the kids).

Before serving, it's customary to hide a small figurine in the galette. Whoever gets the piece with the figurine is king (or queen) for a day. In reality, the winner is anyone who gets to have a slice of this delicious dessert.

Fresh Jujube Tart with Walnut Cream (Chinese Date Tart)

Lulu planted jujube trees 3 years ago and they didn't produce much fruit until this year. A jujube (also called Chinese date) is a little date-sized fruit that has a sweet smell and a flavor reminiscent of apples. In Asia, legend says that the scent of jujubes makes people fall in love. They are also a sign of fertility.

The fruits are so much more flavorful and sweet than the ones from our local market. In Vietnam, jujubes are eaten fresh as a snack. The girls have been going back and forth to the garden to pick the fruits from the trees. The crop is so huge this year; each branch holds at least 2 dozen jujubes. We've been asking friends and family to take some home, but we still had more, so I decided to try and make a dessert with some jujubes.

The texture of the fresh fruit is very similar to apples, so I adapted my tarte amandine and made it with walnuts and jujube instead. For a nice glossy look, I drizzled date syrup over the jujube tarts. It was the first  time I tested the recipe and it worked wonderfully.

Maple Pecan Fig Tart

We harvested our last batch of Black Mission figs from the garden today. I've been wanting to share them with our friends, and so I made two dozen mini-tarts this afternoon.

I adapted the almond cream that I use in my tarte amandine recipe, but instead of almond I used pecans because I think pecans complement figs really well. To sweeten the figs and pecans, I drizzle warm maple syrup. The result is a true taste of autumn.

Apricot Tart with Almond Cream and Kaffir Lime Ginger Glaze

I was in the mood to bake today. I thought about making apple tartes amandines but everyone said they were bored with this flavor. So to please the whole house, I paired the almond cream with fresh ripe apricots. In France, you would order "une tarte amandine aux abricots, s'il vous plait!" in a patisserie (bakery). You probably won't learn this phrase in any French for tourists books, but I'm telling you, it's essential for your survival .

For the glaze, I had Laura's apricot pie jelly, a few kaffir lime leaves left that I did not used for my sweet and sour pineapple soup and some fresh ginger. It gave a nice kick to the apricot.

I know what you're going to say about my family. How spoiled are they?