Epiphany: Galette des Rois

The sixth of January marks the Feast of Epiphany, otherwise known as Twelfth Night, or the end of the Christmas season. It is the day when we celebrate the visit of the three wise men to Jesus, and traditionally the day when Christmas decorations are taken down. So we ate galette des rois for dessert and then proceeded to undecorate the house.

The two taken together made a kind of solemn celebration; almost an anti-festivity. The sweet French pie consists of layers of puff pastry surrounding an almond filling. Its light flakiness is the opposite of the dense richness of Christmas cake; its plain burnished finish so different to colourful icing.

Likewise, as our living room shed its lights and tinsel and returned to its everyday state - as everyone helped to remove baubles, gently wrap the precious ornaments, and wind up the strings of lights - I found myself reflecting on the ritual. I'd never thought of the taking-down being as important as the putting-up, but somehow, this time, it felt that way. We made a gentle end to the season, and celebrated the return to normal life. Just as the wise men made a fleeting visit to the baby before taking up their journey again, so we too, having rejoiced at the manger again, will carry on with the daily task of following Jesus.

But don't forget the cake!

Galette des Rois
1 packet puff pastry
50g butter
50g caster sugar
50g ground almonds
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 egg

Roll out the puff pastry (if not ready-rolled) and cut out two circles, about 18cm and 20cm diameter.

Make sure the butter is soft. Put it in a bowl with the sugar, almonds and almond extract. Beat the egg in a cup, then pour most of it into the bowl, saving a teaspoonful for an egg wash. Beat the almond mixture together to form a smooth paste.

Put the smaller pastry circle on a baking sheet. Pile the almond paste in the middle and spread it out evenly, leaving a border round the edge. Brush a little water onto this border, then drape the larger pastry circle over the top and smooth down. Use your thumb to press the edges together to make sure it's completely sealed. Make a pattern on the top with a knife.

Put the pie and the leftover egg in the fridge for half an hour or however long is convenient. Preheat the oven to 180C. Brush the pie with egg and bake for 25-30 minutes until risen and golden. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

(Adapted from a recipe by Raymond Blanc)

Comments

The democracy of theology

Who gets to decide what God is like? I am the way, the truth and the life (Image: Pixabay) Well, God presumably has a pretty good idea. The rest of us struggle a bit more. So where do you get your theology from? Who tells you what God is like? And who do you believe when they tell you? I'm asking these questions because I recently read At the Gates , which I reviewed here . It made a lot of useful points about disability and the church. But it also, I noticed, had a very particular view of theology. Once again, I was glad I'd previously read Models of Contextual Theology , because I was able to pick up a few assumptions that the authors of At the Gates were making. I didn't feel that I totally disagreed with these assumptions, but I wasn't sure if I agreed with them either. So I'm using this post to explore them further. Assumption 1 A disabled person's lived theology is just as important as an academic person's theology This generates two opposing reaction

Limestone Way: quirky churches and cave houses

Enough theological reflection - let's go for a walk! Toby joined me for the two walks between Mayfield and Thorpe, via Mapleton and Ashbourne. My old phone finally died, so I was enjoying the capabilities of my new one, including a much better camera and the ability to plot routes on the OS Maps app. Walk One It was the first day of Toby's summer holidays, so I'd promised him a milkshake en route . We parked in Mayfield, went past the primary school, and climbed the hill to rejoin the Limestone Way where I'd left it last time . Very soon we came across Lordspiece Farm, which had what looked like a little shed on wheels outside. The sign said "Honesty Tuck Shop". One part of it was a freezer stacked full of ice cream! It was very tempting, but we'd hardly walked any distance, and we had those plans for milkshakes. We reluctantly closed the door and moved on. The farm dog had a bark much bigger than its body - it was a tiny thing! We continued across some f

At the Gates: Spiritual Formation Book 14

"A church with an accessible culture makes sure a diverse community can participate in everything they do. That's not a burden on a church - it's a cultural shift that benefits everyone." "This is a book about justice." So reads the first sentence of At the Gates: Disability, Justice and the Churches . Written by Naomi Lawson Jacobs and Emily Richardson, who are themselves disabled, At the Gates draws on interviews with dozens of Christians with disabilities to put together a picture of how they have been treated at church. In the book, the interviewees are called storytellers . All too often, the stories tell of lack of access, hurtful comments, and unfounded assumptions about their abilities and faith. This, the authors describe as ableism - an ideology that gives power to those who are able-bodied and neurotypical, while regarding others as deficient. What is the book about? The first part of the book covers the issues that disabled people have in havin

Martha's Marvellous Munchies

Search This Blog