Today we're marking Epiphany, the Feast of the Kings. Not in any religious way, but with a definite sense of celebration, having snapped up a fabulous gift from afar — in the shape of Sadaharu Aoki's remarkable take on the traditional galette des rois.
The standard recipe calls for a filling of frangipane, and indeed Aoki does make one like that. But his pièce de résistance is this...
The filling is made with azuki beans and matcha, and the same deep bitter powdered tea is dusted over the outer surface.
And the fève (as pictured above) is a miniature version of one of Aoki's distinctive chocorons.
It's only been in the last decade or so that these festive galettes have been available in Tokyo — Bigot in Printemps was the first to offer them (to the best of my knowledge, and I hope my French friends correct me if that's not the case) — but it's an excellent custom.
Now most of the high-end patissiers are offering them, not just the French makers but also local specialists. For this year at least, Aoki takes the cake.
I'm not sure how much longer these will be available. But the Aoki stores are always worth a visit, if only to pick up a few of his wonderful pantone-coloured chocolate tablets.
Or a couple of his outrageous eclairs (but that's a different story)...
This will be our last big excuse for a splurge on sweets for a while — that is, until the mass choc-out orgy of Valentine's Day descends upon us.
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