So do you happen to know the History on the King Cake celebrated during the Mardi Gras season? It’s sometimes referred to as kingcake, kings’ cake or three kings’ cake. It’s a type of cake associated in a number of countries with the festival of Epiphany at the end of the Christmas season. In other places, it is associated with the pre-Lenten celebrations of Mardi Gras/Carnival.
What started out roughly 300 years ago as a dry French bread–type dough with sugar on top and a bean inside now comes in many varieties depending on the country.
Traditionally, a small plastic or porcelain baby is hidden inside the king cake. Originally, the baby was placed in the cake to symbolize baby Jesus. Fava beans were also used to represent Jesus.
Today, the baby symbolizes luck and prosperity to whoever finds it in their slice of cake. That person is also responsible for purchasing next year’s cake or for throwing the next Mardi Gras party. I myself have not found one yet. In some traditions, the finder of the baby is designated “king” or “queen” for the evening. Many bakers have recently been placing the baby outside of the cake, and leaving the hiding to the customer. This is also because there is a potential of customers choking on or swallowing the baby, so the bakers wanted to stay clear of this liability. It’s delicious and it brings in the Lenten celebration to a new year to come. However you celebrate it have a “Happy Mardi Gras!”
-Stech’
