We tasted more than a hundred galettes des rois. Here's our opinion on the 15 that we picked out, in no particular order.

With the arrival of Jean Imbert in the Plaza Athénée's kitchens, the duo Elisabeth Hot and Angelo Musa are now in charge of the entire hotel's pastry and sweet selection. Their various desserts, available in many outlets, often borrow from the pastry tradition while favoring seasonal products.

Our opinion: The two pastry chefs decided to work their galette around barley in all its forms: roasted barley flour, barley syrup and the unprocessed grain. Beneath a crunchy crust of crushed barley brown sugar, you find a crispy and chewy puff pastry, like a Breton kouign-amann butter cake. The center is filled with an almond cream lightly flavored with whisky and sprinkled with almond pieces. Our favorite.

Composition: leavened dough, almond cream, almond and barley brown sugar.

Price: €58 (for 4-5 people). Paris.

After having worked in some of the greatest sweet and confectionary establishments (such as Fauchon and Bristol), Jérémie Runel founded the well-named Fabrique Givrée more than 10 years ago. The menu includes ice creams made from excellent raw ingredients without any artificial flavors or colorings, and with as many local products as possible.

Our opinion: Rarely short on surprises, the FG team had the great idea of making a fake ice cream galette des rois. Under its blond chocolate shell, you find butter puff pastry coated with milk chocolate, a creamy almond and bitter almond ice cream with fresh milk and a thin layer of caramel fondant. Did you say ultra-gourmet?

Composition: milk chocolate puff pastry, almond and bitter almond ice cream, caramel fondant, blond chocolate.

Price: €30 (for 6-8 people). Several locations across France.

Jeffrey Cagnes was very young when he discovered a real passion for pastry making. After having had an excellent career among the capital's best establishments (Hédiard, Thoumieux, Delicabar and Stohrer), he finally set up his own business in 2021. He expresses a vision of patisserie that is generous and open to the world.

Our opinion: Here is a vision of a galette that the late Pierre Soulages would have undoubtedly appreciated. Its form heralds color as well as flavor. Here, Mr. Cagnes is working one of his fetish raw materials, black sesame. While the rest of the recipe resembles a traditional galette, the sesame brings a nice sweetness with quite a pronounced and pleasant nutty taste, with the seeds on top providing welcome crunch when you bite.

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