La Galette des Rois

“Galette des Rois”

A French New Year Tradition

Galette des Rois

The “Galette des Rois” or “Cake of the Kings” is a special cake that is looked forward to with great anticipation in much of France in January. They are available in most bakers from just before the Epiphany, the 6th January, to commemorate the arrival of the Three Kings to witness the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

The sharing out of the galette is the occasion to “tirer les rois” or draw kings.  A “fève” (once literally a dried bean, nowadays usually replaced by a porcelain or plastic figurine) is hidden in the cake; the person who gets it in their slice becomes king for the day and wears the golden cardboard crown that always accompanies the cake.

Porcelain "Fèves" Figurines

The porcelain figurines come in a myriad of designs, frequently in sets themed on Disney characters, animals, saints, TV characters, etc.  The little tooth-breaking figurines attract keen collectors; more than 10,000 “fève” figurines are kept at the Museum of Blain near Nantes and a market is held annually in March when collectors exchange pieces.  There are even magazines like “The French Fabophile” and books published about these figures.

In some parts of France (e.g. Provence) the tradition is for a sort of cake made of brioche, rather than a galette,  but in most regions the tradition is for a flat galette made of flaky pastry and filled with almond paste or frangipane.

Here in Normandy an apple filling is also popular, and other regions have their own special versions of the “galette des rois”.

To make a Galette des Rois for 8 people

Ingredients

250 grams of puff pastry

1 egg yolk

frangipane or almond paste

1 bean or figurine

Preparation

Divide the pastry into two

Roll into two circles

Put one pastry circle on a plate

Spread a layer of almond paste or frangipane

Place the bean

Cover with the second circle of pastry

Using a knife or skewer, make a drawing on the pastry surface

Brush with beaten egg yolk

Bake 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees until top is golden brown

To make frangipane, if you can’t obtain any:

Make a syrup with ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water brought to the boil
Finely grate an orange peel
Place the peel in the boiling syrup for 15 minutes – keep an eye on it to make sure it does not burn
Let it cool to room temperature
Add 50 grams of sugar and 50 grams of butter and stir vigorously until the mix is soft and creamy
Add 1 beaten egg, 100 grams of almond powder, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, orange zest, 1 tablespoon of Cointreau
Beat an egg white to peaks and fold in

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The Vineyards of the Coteaux du Loir and Jasnières

Domaine de Bellivière - terroir des Renaudes

Loir Valley Wine Route

Whilst there is a small wine-producing domaine just north of Alençon, the nearest major AOC region is to the south of Le Mans in the Loir (without an “e”) valley.  We passed a pleasant afternoon driving the Loir Valley Wine Route in late autumn; this was quite by accident after cutting short a planned visit to the town of Château-du-Loir (there’s not much there – not recommended!) following a late-season trip to the “Jardin d’Atmosphère” at St Biez-en-Belin.

Loir Valley Wine Route

I’m not a wine buff – this is purely a guide to help anyone wishing to visit some vineyards in the region and perhaps buy direct from the producer.

The Googlemap below shows the wine producers we found and where the main vineyards are located, with those possessing a decent website represented by a bunch of purple grapes and the others by green grapes. Several sell wine directly to the public, giving you a chance to taste before buying. Otherwise you can buy many of the same wines online or in wine merchants/cavistes in the towns around the region.

View Larger Map

There is a “route des vignes” clearly signposted along the Loir valley, which is how we found several of these vineyards.

The Vineyards of the Coteaux du Loir and Jasnières

The Coteaux du Loir AOC stretches across 16 communes in the Sarthe and 6 in d’Indre-et-Loire department, producing red, white and rosé wines.  However, only half of the communes that are entitled to produce AOC Coteaux du Loir actually make any wine, and the greatest concentration of vineyards is around the communes of Ruillé-sur-Loir, Poncé-sur-Loir, Lhomme, Chahaignes and Marçon.

Domaine les Maisons Rouges - Chenin Grapes with "noble rot" 2009

The Jasnières AOC is a sub-section of Coteaux du Loir; it is a dry white wine produced exclusively in the communes of Lhomme and Ruillé-sur-Loir.

All of the vineyards are located on the south-facing slopes, the banks and larger tributaries of the river Loir.

Coteaux du Loir

The Coteaux du Loir whites are similar to Jasnières:  same chenin blanc (also known as Pineau de la Loire) grape variety, same type of terrain and climate.  The best are indistinguishable to plebs like me from the better known (and more expensive) Jasnières.

The red wines from Coteaux du Loir use juice mainly from the Pineau d’Aunis, a local grape variety.  They are fairly pale red, smooth, fresh and raspberry-ish.

Rosés from Coteaux du Loir are predominantly from Pineau d’Aunis, light and fresh – pretty much like Rosé d’Anjou.

Domaine les Maisons Rouge, 5 Octobre 2009 : first day of picking

Jasnières

Jasnières is a dry white wine, yellowish in colour, flowery and fruity to smell, often with a mineral, flinty taste.  In the best vintage years, sweet wines are also produced in this area.

I’m told these wines age well – that they can take 10 to 15 years to reach their best and still remain fresh after 20 years.

Several Jasnières wines are labelled after their terroir (the parcel of land which produces the grape) : such as le Clos des Jasnières, le Clos des Molières, la Gidonière, le Clos Saint-Jacques, etc.

The Jasnières vineyards run in a line about 200 m wide for a distance of 5km on the south facing slopes of the Loir, through the communes of Lhomme and Ruillé-sur-Loir. This means that the vines enjoy the best sunshine and are protected from the north winds by the hills and the forest of Bercé.

Jasnières hillside (from http://www.jasnieres.fr)

To visit nearby

Special thanks to Elisabeth and Benoît Jardin of Domaine les Maisons Rouges, Eric et Christine Nicolas of Domaine de Bellivière and Paul Sindell of www.jasnieres.fr for the use of photos.

Château de Bénehard at Chahaignes – you can visit the grounds of this château, no charge, from July to September.  In the grounds is a 15th century wine press.

Musée de la Vigne, Lhomme – the museum has been recently renovated and reorganized and is situated in the centre of Lhomme.  It displays the tools used by local wine-growers for working their vines and making wine and has a video showing the work of the last local barrel-maker. Open July to mid-September, Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 3pm to 6pm.

Gardens of the Château de Grand-Lucé – 17 acres of classic French gardens open April to September Sundays 10am – 6pm

Useful links:

www.maisonsrouges.com – wine producer
http://www.belliviere.com – wine producer (images © Studio Amarante)
www.coteauxduloir.fr – website of Coteaux du Loir producers
www.jasnieres.fr – website of Jasnières producers

You will find links to other vineyards by clicking on the Googlemap at the top of the article.

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Camembert, Normandy

Camembert cheese is named after a small village in the Orne department of Lower Normandy, under an hour north from where we live (near Alençon). It’s a cheese of many talents: I like it young, when the inside is creamy yet crumbly, while others like it when it is really mature – what I call a runny, smelly mess. Personal choice!

Young, fresh camembert is quite mild, but as it ripens it becomes softer and more strongly flavoured.  Camembert is used in lots of recipes, but its distinctive flavour and texture gets lost in heating.  I prefer eating it in its natural state with fresh bread, when it MUST be served at room temperature to get the full flavour.  I think it is also best served with cider rather than with wine.

The best camembert is made from untreated milk and produced in the traditional way including hand-ladling into moulds – these top-quality cheeses bear the AOC Camembert label.

Other famous cheeses in the immediate environs include Livarot, Pont l’Evêque and Neufchâtel.  I confess that “Cœur de Neufchâtel”, the heart-shaped cheese, is my favourite of all of these, even if Camembert is better known.

Legend has it that Camembert cheese was invented by accident in 1791, and the story involves the French Revolution, a priest on the run and a lady farmer.

The Legend of Camembert Cheese

During the French Revolution (which began in 1789), all Catholic priests were required to swear allegiance to the new republic under pain of execution orexile. Rather than take any of these choices, some priests took refuge in the countryside.

In October 1791, the Abbé Charles-Jean Bonvoust sought refuge with Marie Harel at her manor farm, Beaumoncel near Camembert – Marie was born and grew up in Camembert.  The Abbé came from the Brie, a cheese-making region near Paris. As thanks for the shelter she offered him, he gave to Marie the “secret” of making Brie-style cheese.  However, Marie altered the recipe slightly, giving rise to a quite different type of cheese.

A nice story, but Camembert and the surrounding Auge region were already famous for their cheese well before Marie Harel was ever born. In 1569, Brugerin de Champier in his De Re Ciberia referred to “augeron cheeses”, as did Charles Estienne, another writer, in 1554. Thomas Corneille (brother of Pierre Corneille, author of Le Cid) also spoke in 1708 of “the cheeses of … Camembert” in his treatise on geography.

During the 19th century, thanks to the growth of the rail-road and the use of the now traditional individual, round wooden boxes to protect the cheeses from damage, Camembert conquered the markets of Paris and France and its fame has since spread world-wide.

Visiting Camembert

President Farm

The village is very picturesque and worth a  visit.  A trip there can be combined with a visit to the larger, nearby town of Vimoutiers and/or the wonderful Château de Vendeuvre which is not far away. In Camembert:

• The President Farm : find out how Camembert is made.
• Maison de Camembert (House of Camembert) : round and white, the building looks like a half-open box of Camembert! Used as a display centre in summer.
• Manoir de Beaumoncel : This old manor-house was the home of Marie Harel, the lady cheese-maker of legend
• La Héronnière Farm - Fromagerie Durand : the last dairy farm in the actual village of Camembert producing true A.O.C. camembert cheese from raw milk, hand moulded with a ladle in the traditional way.

The manufacturing process

This video is adapted from the site www.fromageriegillot.fr – one of the top manufacturers of Camembert cheese, and a multiple prize-winner.

The traditional Camembert cheese making process takes 3 to 4 weeks.  Without going into detail, the main stages are:

1. curdling the milk with the addition of rennet and ferments
2. ladling the curds into individual moulds, from which Camembert takes its form
3. draining the excess moisture from the moulds, which can take a day
4. then the cheese is turned out and rubbed with salt on all surfaces, to develop the aroma of the Camembert and form the crust
5. maturing in the drying room takes an average of twelve days, turning the cheese every 48 hours
6. wrapping in waxed paper and packing into the traditional round, wooden containers
7. eating – the best bit (but I still prefer Cœur de Neufchâtel!)

Access to Camembert:

Camembert is 1 hour (50 miles or 80km) north of our Bed & Breakfast Accommodation in Lower Normandy

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Alençon, Chocolate and Lace

Visit Normandy Guest Post at Velvet Escape

Polished pews at the back of the church … a velvety and voluptuous, sensuous and silky secret … a devilish delight with eyes closed and head tilted back in delectation … a wicked pleasure of self-indulgence …

Chocolat Glatigny, Alençon, Normandy

Chocolate Heaven in Normandy! Read more at VelvetEscape … http://velvetescape.com/

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Soupe Angevine – Angers “Oranges and Lemons” Cocktail

The days are getting warmer, the sun is shining and thoughts are turning to outdoor entertaining and barbecues. This easy-to-prepare cocktail always goes down well for aperos – like an x-rated homemade lemonade. Beware, as the fresh, zingy taste hides a real kick!

The name “Soupe Angevine” literally means “Angers Soup”, Angers being the chef-lieu of Maine-et Loire, formerly part of the province of Anjou and now a department of the Pays de la Loire, and whose inhabitants are known as “angevins”.

Ingredients:

- 1 bottle of fizzy white wine (e.g. a crémant or mousseux, no need to break the bank)
- 1 ladle* of lemon juice (preferably freshly squeezed)
- 1 ladle of sugar syrup (can be made by heating equal volume of sugar and water until the sugar dissolves – don’t overheat or it becomes caramel!)
- 1 ladle of orange liqueur (e.g. Cointreau or Grand Marnier)

Preparation

Not a lot to it really: all of the ingredients should be chilled in the fridge and are then mixed together in a punch bowl or similar just before serving.

Dampen and dip rim of glass in sugar for those with a sweet tooth. Serve with a slice or twist of lemon.

Enjoy!

 

* Regular kitchen ladle = about 6 fluid ounces, but a bit more or less doesn’t make too much difference.

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