Retour de vacances, ce matin il restait des céréales et du lait de croissance à la maison. Les enfants adorent, mais moi j’ai un peu de mal avec le lait sucré le matin. Bref, je passe à la boulangerie sur le chemin du bureau. Elle était remplie de Galette des Rois. Un peu de team building autour d’un gâteau est toujours positif.  Puis je me suis demandé quelle en était l’origine.

Je ne savais pas  qu’on en faisait de plusieurs sortes suivant la région. A Toulouse, c’est plutôt brioche, mais on trouve de la franchipane aussi.

Ci-dessous, un Louisiana King Cake à la Cannelle avec un glacage coloré. Slurp 😉

Voici ce que dit Wikipedia:

Cette pratique trouverait son origine dans les Saturnales de la Rome antique. Les Romains utilisaient la fève comme bulletin de vote pour élire le roi du festin lors de ces fêtes. Les fèves ont été remplacées en 1870 par des figurines en porcelaine ou – plus récemment – en plastique. Jadis, l’usage voulait que l’on partage la galette en autant de parts que de convives, plus une. Cette dernière, appelée « part du Bon Dieu », « part de la Vierge » ou « part du pauvre » était destinée au premier pauvre qui se présenterait au logis.

Et ce qu’on en dit sur AskOxford

A celebration of Christ being visited by the Magi, the epiphany was set to January the 6th by Pope Julius II. Also known as le jour des Rois, this is the day when the three kings are traditionally added next to the crib. Over the years, this religious festival overlapped with pagan traditions that went back to the Roman Saturnalia.

From the Middle Ages, the epiphany has been celebrated with a special Twelfth Night cake: la galette des rois, literally the King’s cake. The galette differed according to the regions: for example it was made of puff pastry in Paris, but made of brioche and shaped as a crown in Provence. Under Louis XIV, the Church considered this festival as a pagan celebration and as an excuse for indulgence, and it was subsequently banned. To get around this ban, it became la fête du bon voisinage (literally, ‘neighbourly relations day’). This culinary tradition even survived the French Revolution when it became the ‘Gâteau de l’Êgalité (the equality cake), as Kings were not very popular in those years!

The cake contains a lucky charm (une fève) which originally was a bean, a symbol of fertility. Whoever found the charm in their slice of cake, became King or Queen and had to buy a round of drinks for all their companions. This sometimes resulted in stingy behaviour and to avoid buying a round of drinks, the potential King or Queen very often swallowed the bean! This is why towards the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, the lucky charm started being made of china. The charm can take any shape or form and can either be very plain or more sophisticated (glazed or handpainted). It sometimes represents a religious figure such as the baby Jesus, but it can be virtually anything. Little horseshoe shapes are popular as they are thought to bring luck. Although nowadays very often made of plastic, old-fashioned china charms are still used and they have become a collectable item.

The modern Galette des Rois is made of puff pastry and can be plain or filled with frangipane, an almond-flavoured paste. It is sold in all French bakeries and eating the galetteat the beginning of January is still a very popular tradition and an opportunity for families and friends to gather around the table. The youngest person in the room (usually a child) hides under the table and shouts out which guest each slice of cake should be given to. The person who finds the fève in their slice of galette becomes the King or Queen and is given a golden paper crown. The King or Queen then has to choose his Queen or her King, by dropping the lucky charm in their glass.