Galette des rois

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
2. Cut the ready-made puff pastry into two halves, even out each piece and slash into a 25cm round.
3. Put one portion on a baking sheet and add apricot jam within 2cm of the edges.
4. Whisk the softened butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy, then whip in the egg. Add ground almonds and cognac or dark rum, mix well.
5. Pour the mixture over the jam, spreading uniformly. Add a bit of water to the edges of the pastry with water with a brush, then top with the second piece, tucking both of them together.
6. Mark the top of the pastry from the center to the edges in a geometrical pattern (see picture), then flavor with beaten egg.
7. Let bake for 25-30 minutes until crisp and golden.
8. Serve warm or cold.

Trivia

• In the olden times, the pastry would be cut into parts equaling the number of people that were there to eat. In the south of France, the customary sweet isn't a puff pastry, but a brioche with fruits, likewise containing a fève, and that is known as the galette des rois.
• The cake is an essential part of the occasion of Epiphany, known as Le Jour des Rois, Kings’ Day celebrated on 6th January every year. Every year, amid the conventional gathering at the Elysée Palace, a colossal galette is made for the President of the French Republic.

The cake is said to have been designed by a Florentine aristocrat, the Marquis of Frangipani.