"Like Mardi Gras itself, the tradition of king cake is largely rooted in Old World Europe, chiefly France and Spain. Settlers brought an early (and far less colorful) version with them to Louisiana, where families would bake and eat it at home. According to NPR, the practice of hiding a trinket in it at Mardi Gras began in the late 19th century when the Twelfth Night Revelers, New Orlean’s second-ever Carnival krewe, put a bean in it. The person who found it in their slice would be crowned king or queen of their ball that year.
The trinket would eventually shift to a pecan or a jeweled ring, but it wouldn’t become a baby cake until the 1950s—all due to a funny encounter between a baker and a traveling salesman. Donald Entringer, baker at a commercial bakery in New Orleans called McKenzie’s, was convinced by a salesman to purchase a lot of tiny baby dolls. Some accounts, like NPR’s, say the original babies were made of porcelain, while others claim they were plastic like the ones we see today.
Rosca de Reyes is king cake’s older Latin cousin, eaten during the January 6 holiday celebrated throughout Spain and Mexico. Also oval-shaped, the pastry is traditionally adorned with (often red and green) candied fruit slices and enjoyed by families on Three Kings Day. There’s usually a baby hidden inside as well, though it has a more overtly religious connotation than that of the king cake’s: The small white figure represents the baby Jesus hiding from King Herod.
France’s version, eaten in France on the first Sunday in January, is not a ring but a puffy tart, often filled with a mix of almond and pastry cream. It also contains a trinket known as a fève, not a literal bean but instead a small toy.
Whichever sweet round treat you choose, it’ll be fit for a king—aka you, if you find yourself chomping down on the prize inside."
I got it once. My dad used to do a lot of business in New Orleans. So many cakes, so many chances. Tradition–as I have been told–is whoever gets it is lucky but you buy the cake next year. I failed to do that.
They are good cakes, but meant for the circumstance versus culinary.
I did a quick web search because I have no idea what this was all about. https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/food/a30420768/what-is-king-cake/
"Like Mardi Gras itself, the tradition of king cake is largely rooted in Old World Europe, chiefly France and Spain. Settlers brought an early (and far less colorful) version with them to Louisiana, where families would bake and eat it at home. According to NPR, the practice of hiding a trinket in it at Mardi Gras began in the late 19th century when the Twelfth Night Revelers, New Orlean’s second-ever Carnival krewe, put a bean in it. The person who found it in their slice would be crowned king or queen of their ball that year.
The trinket would eventually shift to a pecan or a jeweled ring, but it wouldn’t become a baby cake until the 1950s—all due to a funny encounter between a baker and a traveling salesman. Donald Entringer, baker at a commercial bakery in New Orleans called McKenzie’s, was convinced by a salesman to purchase a lot of tiny baby dolls. Some accounts, like NPR’s, say the original babies were made of porcelain, while others claim they were plastic like the ones we see today.
Rosca de Reyes is king cake’s older Latin cousin, eaten during the January 6 holiday celebrated throughout Spain and Mexico. Also oval-shaped, the pastry is traditionally adorned with (often red and green) candied fruit slices and enjoyed by families on Three Kings Day. There’s usually a baby hidden inside as well, though it has a more overtly religious connotation than that of the king cake’s: The small white figure represents the baby Jesus hiding from King Herod.
France’s version, eaten in France on the first Sunday in January, is not a ring but a puffy tart, often filled with a mix of almond and pastry cream. It also contains a trinket known as a fève, not a literal bean but instead a small toy.
Whichever sweet round treat you choose, it’ll be fit for a king—aka you, if you find yourself chomping down on the prize inside."
I got it once. My dad used to do a lot of business in New Orleans. So many cakes, so many chances. Tradition–as I have been told–is whoever gets it is lucky but you buy the cake next year. I failed to do that.
They are good cakes, but meant for the circumstance versus culinary.
My favorite bread place (that has locations all over, including Anchorage, AK!) does one of my fav King Cakes! (Great Harvest Bread)