I have always wanted to be queen for a day! The holidays in France just keep getting better all the time! I wish they had told me all I had to do to become queen of France was eat cake-heck...I could have been ruling France for years already! Huh? What's that? My reign as the Queen of France ends when? What if I just don't show up to relinquish my crown? Oh, all right! Well, at least I was queen of France for a day! And that French cake was fantastic too! But, why do the French call it Twelfth Night Cake? Shouldn't it be Hot, Diva, Queen Cake?
Learning French with FrenchPod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn French! This French Audio Blog lesson will explain the tradition of Twelfth Night Cake, and where it got its name. Then you will know why it isn't called Hot, Diva, Queen Cake! This Audio Blog lesson is spoken entirely in French...but not to worry! You can stop by FrenchPod101 to pick up the French lesson notes along with other great French learning material for additional help if you need it!
Formal French
Devenir Reine c'est Facile Comme Bonjour !
La galette des rois.Hummm la galette des rois !! Savez-vous ce que c’est ? C’est un gâteau originalement composé de frangipane que l’on mange à l’occasion de l’Épiphanie. A l’intérieur de ce gâteau, une fève y est cachée bien que l’on trouve plus généralement une figurine dorénavant.
Si vous êtes en France à cette période de l’année en janvier, vous avez sûrement déjà dû voir ces fameuses galettes dans les boulangeries et dans les supermarchés !
J’adore la galette des rois et j’en profite toujours comme cette année pour en manger à diverses occasions : avec ma famille mais aussi mes amis.
La galette des rois cache une fève et celui qui l’obtient dans sa part de gâteau doit porter la couronne dorée qui accompagne la galette. De nos jours, les couronnes que l’on trouve ne sont plus forcément dorées mais disons que le principe reste le même !
La tradition veut que le plus jeune présent dans la salle aille sous la table. Il doit désigner la personne qui fait le service et à qui revient chaque part pour qu’il n’y ait pas de triche et que la distribution se fasse aléatoirement. J’apprécie beaucoup ces moments de rires et de joies car c’est toujours convivial de se réunir à l’occasion de la galette des rois !
Chose importante : pour manger la galette, n’oubliez pas de l’accompagner de cidre de pomme. Évidemment, n’en abusez pas, car bien que le cidre soit léger et facile à boire, cela reste une boisson alcoolisée !
Enfin, pour ceux qui n’aiment pas la vraie galette des rois à la frangipane, il reste la galette à la pomme ! Donc vous n’avez plus aucune raison de manquer cette occasion de « tirer les rois » !
Et vous, avez-vous déjà mangé une galette des rois ou même participé à ce rite de début d’année ?
Formal English
Becoming Queen is a Piece of Cake!
Twelfth Night cake. Hmm…do you know what Twelfth Night cake is? It is a cake originally made of frangipani, an almond filling that we eat for the Epiphany. Inside the cake, you hide a charm even though someone finds the figurines. If you happen to be in France during January, you surely have seen this well-known, round, flat, biscuit in bakeries and in supermarkets.
I love Twelfth Night cakes and I always take advantage at this time of year to eat some at various occasions with family and friends.
Someone hides a charm inside a Twelfth Night cake and the one who gets it from his piece of cake has to wear the golden crown accompanying the Twelfth Night cake. Now the crowns one finds are not necessarily golden, but the principle is the same.
The tradition requires that the youngest person present go under the table. He will designate the person who will serve and choose which piece of cake goes to whom in order to avoid cheating and that the distribution is random.
I appreciate these moments, full of laughs and happiness, because it’s always convivial to meet for the Twelfth Night cake event. One important thing; when eating the cake, don’t forget to serve it with apple cider. Evidently, do not abuse it because even though the cider is light and easy to drink, it is still an alcoholic beverage.
Finally, for the ones who don’t like the real Twelfth Night cake with frangipani, there is the apple Twelfth Night cake. Therefore, you have no reason to miss an opportunity to eat it! And you, have you already eaten a Twelfth Night cake or participated in this beginning of the year custom?
French / English / Class
galette / flat cake made of puff pastry / noun
originalement / originally / adverb
frangipane / frangipani / noun
fameux(-euse) / illustrious (well-known), much talked about / adjective
boulangerie / bakery / noun
obtenir / to obtain, to incur / verb
couronne / cap (crownwork) / noun
tricher / to cheat / verb
distribution / distribution / noun
aléatoirement / randomly / adverb
manquer / to miss / verb
participer / to take part in / verb
galette
La galette est énorme.
“The round, flat biscuit is huge.”
originalement
Originalement, je ne bois jamais.
“Originally, I never drink.”
frangipane
Il y a beaucoup de frangipane dans la galette.
“There is a lot of almond paste in this round, flat cake.”
fameux(-euse)
Ce fromage est fameux.
"This cheese is famous."
Les fameuses histoires de Céline me manquent.
"I miss Celine’s famous stories."
boulangerie
La boulangerie est au bout de la rue.
“The bakery is at the end of the street.”
obtenir
J'ai obtenu mon diplôme de pompier.
“I obtained my firefighter diploma/certificate.”
couronne
La couronne est trop grande pour sa tête.
“The crown is too large for his head.”
tricher
Il triche souvent quand on joue aux cartes.
“He often cheats when he plays card.”
distribution
La distribution des cadeaux se fait demain.
“The gift distribution is done tomorrow.”
aléatoirement
Il a choisi la couleur de sa voiture aléatoirement.
“He chose the color of his car randomly.”
manquer
Il a manqué de jugement.
“He lacks judgment.”
participer
L'essentiel, c'est de participer.
“The essential is to participate.”