During my first year living in France, I was delighted to learn that various holidays, often with Catholic backgrounds, came with their own special desserts and traditions. 
January Kings Cake
Desserts really take off after New Year’s Day. On January 6th, there is Kings Cake for Epiphany, or the celebration of the wise men meeting the Infant Jesus. One kind of Kings Cake is found in the south of France and is a brioche crown of soft yeast bread. In the USA, this is associated more with Mardi Gras in March. The northern French version, la galette de rois, is more common. It’s a round puff pastry filled with frangipane almond custard, and served with sparkling apple cider.
The first time I was served la galette was at my parents-in-laws’ house. They had purchased a fancy galette from the bakery made with pistachios and candied cherries. My husband explained there’s a small figurine or fève hidden inside which originally represented the Baby Jesus. In modern times, the fève can be any character, part of a collector’s series, or cartoon. Whoever finds it in their slice is king for the day and wears the paper crown from the bakery.
My mother-in-law added that the youngest person goes under the table so they can’t see la galette, in case part of the fève is showing. The child says who gets the piece that the mother is pointing to, to be sure it’s fair.
“Well, I’m the youngest!” I said, scooting my chair out.
My mother-in-law stopped me with, “You’re a married woman. You do not go under the table.” Luckily, grownups still get to wear the crown.
Throughout January, friends and neighbors have parties to eat la galette together. I loved hearing, “Oh, I haven’t eaten la galette with you yet!” If I did it right, I could have my favorite dessert five or six times with different people.
February Crêpes
Next, on February 2nd, is La Chandeleur, with crêpes as its featured dessert. The origins of this festival are vague, involving Jesus being presented at the temple, but also celebrations for the end of winter à la Groundhog day. This is my favorite time to have another couple over to eat buckwheat dinner crêpes folded in a square and filled to order with Swiss cheese, ham, an egg, onions, sautéed mushrooms, etc.
We love my mother-in-law’s famous dessert crêpes with a splash of Negrita rum and sprinkled with sugar (recipe below). My husband prefers to roll them up and eat them just like this by the dozens. His maman would make them each morning for him to be sure he had eaten before school. Now that is love! Nutella, jams and jellies, and whipped cream are also wonderful toppings. I am still working to perfect my technique – it takes practice to get a small amount rolled around a hot crêpe pan to achieve the perfect thinness without any gaps.
March Beignets
Then in March, there is Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. While you might be familiar with this celebration, which takes place before the fasting period of Lent, did you know the French traditionally eat beignets for this holiday? This donut-like desserts may be fruit (like apples or bananas) dipped in batter and fried, or they may be simply fried batter sprinkled with powdered sugar. But what you get at carnivals and from street carts are round beignets with chocolate hazelnut filling.
Try my version of our family crêpes and start some new traditions to brighten your winter with some sweetness.
Make sure you never miss out on things to do in Wichita: subscribe to our weekly Wichita Moms Blog newsletter! Be the first to know about our exclusive events, special offers and discounts, neighborhood group activities and, of course, local resources and parenting voices powered by local Wichita moms!
[yumprint-recipe id=’3′]
