The custom of the King Cakes, which has gained tremendous popularity in the last thirty years, has its roots in pre-Medieval Europe. In European countries, the coming of the wisemen bearing gifts to the Christ Child is celebrated twelve days after Christmas. The celebration called the Epiphany calls for a celebration of exchanging gifts and feastings. Early French settlers are said to have baked the first King cake in Louisiana with the city of New Orleans having first offered it to the masses.
Thousands of King Cakes are consumed at parties, office gatherings, family get-togethers, school class parties, boy or girl scout meetings and sometimes simply for breakfast or as a quick and easy dessert. In many Christian Churches The Epiphany, the Twelfth Night or Little Christmas is observed on January 06. This day has come to be known as "KING'S DAY". This is also the day King Cakes become available from your local baker or supermarket and continues until Mardi Gras or "Fat Tuesday", its' English translation.
While the story of King Cakes is open to many interpretations, the simplest form of the tradition consists of someone finding a tiny object hidden inside the cake. That person, the "King", is then responsible for buying the next cake or throwing the next party.
The Europeans hide a bean inside their cake and the person receiving the bean portrayed one of the "Three Kings". Latin American people put a small figure inside the cake representing the "Christ Child". It is said that a year of good fortune awaits the lucky person who gets the figure. Over the years the items tucked in a King Cake included coins, beans, peas and pecans. Since many of these items were being swallowed, a tiny baby enamel doll took the place of the items. They too were hidden within the cakes. The person receiving a piece of the cake would use his fork and press down into his slice making sure the baby was not in his piece of cake. Contrary to popular belief, these dolls were not originally intended to represent the infant Jesus. Later on the enamel dolls were replaced with plastic dolls. Unfortunately because of the possible choking hazards, the plastic dolls are no longer hidden by the bakers but placed in the center of the cake where it can easily be seen. The person serving the cake would then be the one to hide the doll and ultimately accept the liability should someone unfortunately swallow the hidden doll.
Traditionally, King Cakes are oval shaped and braided to show the unity of all Christians. Its' taste which is rather rich and unique would be compared to a giant cinnamon doughnut. It is generally deep fat fried as a doughnut would be. The cakes are either plain or filled with such fillings as Bavarian cream, cream cheese, strawberry or any other various fillings of choice. They are topped with sugar granules in the official Carnival colors of purple, green and gold. The colors are symbolic to many Christians. The purple represents the passion of Christ, the green represents hope and the gold the rewards of leading a Christian life. Some bakers also decorate the cakes in red to symbolize the life of Christ.
Louisianians love to party. The idea of perpetuating the celebration continues with the tradition of "If you find the baby, you buy the next King Cake and continue the festivities of another party".
King Cakes can be ordered from any local bakeries and shipped all over the world. Every year, I ship my children and grandchildren who do not live in Louisiana Land a King Cake. Imagine the joy as the Cake is delivered and shared with their friends thereby spreading Cajun joy. My daughter-in-law told me my seven year old grand daughter remarked……."Momma, Nana (Grandma) remembered, she remembered, she sent us a King Cake" as she ran from her mailbox to her house". How could Nana forget, it is in her blood and in her roots! My grandchildren will surely know a good bit of their Cajun heritage! Have a Happy Mardi Gras!
Child with King Cake shipped via UPS by Meche's Donut King
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The Story of King Cakes
