French Holiday Desserts for After New Year’s Day (and Bonus Crepe Recipe)

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. 


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Franco-American Dessert Crêpes
Serves 6
Simple ingredients for a delightfully French experience. This recipe makes more crêpes than you want to cook and less crêpes than you want to eat.
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Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
45 min
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
45 min
432 calories
68 g
87 g
9 g
18 g
5 g
337 g
140 g
13 g
0 g
4 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
337g
Servings
6
Amount Per Serving
Calories 432
Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 9g
14%
Saturated Fat 5g
25%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 87mg
29%
Sodium 140mg
6%
Total Carbohydrates 68g
23%
Dietary Fiber 2g
8%
Sugars 13g
Protein 18g
Vitamin A
12%
Vitamin C
1%
Calcium
31%
Iron
7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
  1. 3 1/2 cups white flour
  2. 6 cups milk, more to thin the batter
  3. 2 eggs
  4. Flavoring of choice: 1T. vanilla or dark rum
  5. Butter for the pan
  6. Sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
  1. Whisk together the flour, eggs, milk and flavoring. Strain through a sieve to remove any flour clots. The batter must be very runny; add more milk if it's not. Heat the crêpe pan or skillet and rub it with butter. Ladle 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot surface. Swirl the batter around the pan to cover it. (If you have trouble with this, use a larger amount and dump off the excess that doesn't stick to the surface.) The first side should be done in 10-15 seconds, when the edges are browning. Adjust the heat if it browns immediately or takes too long. Use the blade of a table knife to peel the crêpe off the pan and flip it. The second side is done when there are small dots of brown on it. Slide it off onto a plate and sprinkle with sugar. Butter the pan and restart the process. Set the second crepe on top of the first. Sprinkle each generously with sugar. When all the batter is used, roll each crêpe and serve with toppings or plain.
Notes
  1. It works best with a crêpe pan, but a light-weight, non-stick skillet will work.
  2. If you are daring, try using two pans at the same time for efficiency.
  3. Either eat plain with sprinkled sugar, or top with Nutella, whipped cream, jams or fresh fruit.
  4. I like apricot jam from Bonne Maman.
beta
calories
432
fat
9g
protein
18g
carbs
68g
more
Wichita Mom https://wichitamom.com/
Jenna Quentin
Jenna is a Kansas girl who married a Frenchman and lived her personal fairytale in Bordeaux, France for five years. In 2013, they moved back to raise their four children in Newton, where her husband is a firefighter. Jenna brought back a love of the French language, culture, cuisine and cheese. She never thought she would fall equally in love with Kansas and the Wichita area, where she feels so supported as a woman and mom. She is a WAHM, with a media startup.