You’d think that after a month of festive eating, people would feel like taking it easy in January. Nope. Because on the 6th January, Luxembourg celebrates Dräikinneksdag (Epiphany) by tucking into buttery Galettes des Rois. Each frangipane-studded puff pastry tart comes with a ‘bean’ hidden inside (that is usually a ceramic token). The person who gets the slice with the bean is crowned king or queen for a day.

I’ve made Galette de Rois in the past, and I’ve always used shop-bought puff pastry. Because, let’s be frank: who makes puff pastry at home?! It’s a pain in the xxx, as you have to work heaps of butter into layers of pastry, folding and rolling out the pastry between each butter addition. It requires, arm grease, time and lots of determination. So, puff pastry was the one and only dough I would NEVER make from scratch.

But then Le Moulin asked me to make a Galette des Rois – from scratch! I was horrified. I mean, no one in their right mind would recreat that recipe. People buy puff pastry! But hey, working with a flour brand, they of course want to show you how to make it yourself. So, I set down and started researching. There must be an easier way to make puff pastry. Without all the sweat and tears… I was browsing the internet for hours (hell, I even asked chat GPT – alas, I don’t trust it fully yet!), and then I came across this recipe. It really looked alright. The comments were great. I started feeling hopeful… I mean, it’s risky throwing 300g of butter into a dough recipe and it then not turning out well in the end, right?!

And, let me tell you! This is a game changer! The puff pastry turned out absolutely bang on perfect! In fact, it’s THE BEST puff pastry I have ever eaten – IN. MY. LIFE! Of course, using great ingredients like Le Moulin flour and local Luxembourgish butter makes all the difference. But also the fact that this dough is incredibly easy to make and great to handle… I’ve been making it non stop since my discovery a few weeks ago. (Let me tell you, my Wäinzossiss sausage rolls are now a thing that dreams are made of!)

So, if you want to change your life, I urge you: make this puff pastry and you’ll never ever look back and buy ready-made pastry again. Ever! Amen.

Find the recipe here in Luxembourgish.