French Gateau de Rois

Epiphanie - The Feast of Epiphany

1990-

With my few French words in my pocket, I often found myself in awkward red-faced situations ! On the feast of Epiphany, we were invited to share the *Gateau de Rois at our friend's home. Sitting around the table were, Michelle, Herve, their three sons, Benoit, Matthieu, and Nicolas, plus several other people. The Dallaporta household is like an International House of Pancakes, in one evening you can meet more wildly interesting people, than you can meet in the next ten years !

After dinner Michelle brought out the Gateau de Rois, Herve asked me to toss him a plate. "Toss?" I quizzed, "You mean pass you a plate right ?" I wasn't correcting his English, as much as I was clarifying his teasing eyes and his off the cuff humor. I continued, "Toss implies um...eh...you cannot mean toss ?" I searched the faces of the IHOP group, they stared at me with their lack of French to English TOSS verbs, with the look of; You aren't going to lancer-toss the plate !?

I reverted to my strongest ally; Sign Language ! I showed him with an empty hand, as if to toss a Frisbee..."Toss like this ?" I doubted. Herve gleefully nodded, "OUI !"

Everyone is staring at me-

The plate, oh the plate, a hand painted beauty of a plate, belonging to their family since the visit of the Three Kings - kind of plate !

"Toss-Lancer...really ?"

"Come on toss it !"

Across the table seemed near enough, I took the plate in my hand, looked up seeking God's help and tossed it, like I would a Frisbee. If he hadn't side-stepped and raised his hands saying, "What are you doing ?" He could have caught it...

Instead the lancer plate sailed right by him and shattered on the tile floor!

Instead of a dried fava bean in the Gateau de Rois, I wonder if there wasn't a piece of shattered glass !

*The Gateau de Rois - King's Cake,

Made of almonds and/or hazelnuts,

Tons of butter,

Equal amounts of sugar,

A drop or two of Grand Marnier,

An egg,

Some milk,

And then placed into a puff pastry shell.

Inside the cake there is a small token, usually it is a porcelain santon or symbolic objet, and a dried fava bean. (Only in the south of France is there a dried fava bean; Paris there is only a sujet-token in the Gateaux de Rois. The dried bean symbolizes the cook in the kitchen, who drops a fava bean, while preparing the potage.)

On top of the cake is a gold paper crown.

The cake is served in January for the feast of Epiphany, (A feast day for the Three Kings who find the Christ Child and bear their gifts, is celebrated two weeks after Christmas. The Gateau de Rois is served all month.)

The custom:

The cake is served around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, or after dinner.

Everyone sits around the table.

The youngest sits under the table.

The oldest cuts the cake in uneven parts and exactly enough pieces for each person to have one piece of cake.

Then the oldest takes a part of the cake, asking the youngest under the table, "Who should have this piece of cake?"

The youngest names a person.

This goes on until everyone has a piece of cake.

When everyone has a piece of cake, the feasting can begin.

If you are the lucky one to have the token in your cake, (without having broken a tooth!) you keep it in your mouth and do not say anything.

When everyone has finished their cake, the guessing begins.

The one with the token wins the honor to buy or make next year's cake.

The one with a fava bean, is the King or Oueen and wears the gold paper crown all evening.

Comments

[Dawn]

Wonderful story!!! ...but the plate!!!!! :o(

[ms*robyn]

love reading your stories. Was the plate an antique?

[kali]

What a lovely story and I love this tradition...thanks for sharing these wonderful times with us.

[kathleen]

what a funny story...poor plate!

I've seen pictures of family's wearing paper crowns during the holidays... I'd always wondered what the tradition was about. :)

[Shannon Lewis]

I think I would've thrown the plate too...while sweating profusely with nervousness, LOL.

[Marie-Noëlle]

You got our traditional "galette des Rois" right!
May I just add that the tradition of having the younger one under the table is followed as far as we've got children around that day. Otherwise we're not bothered!
MN

[Britt-Arnhild]

Thanks for linking to this post today. I learned about this tradition from Marie Noëlle last year, her daughter sent Marta a figurine which I yesterday bakes into a blueberry muffin.