A king cake, also known as a three kings cake, is a

cake Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate ...

associated in many countries with Epiphany. Its form and ingredients are variable, but in most cases a () such as a figurine, often said to represent the

Christ Child The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, a ...

, is hidden inside. After the cake is cut, whoever gets the fève wins a prize.Eliza Barclay: ''Is That a Plastic Baby Jesus in My Cake''

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

from 2012-2-17(englisch) Modern fèves can be made of other materials, and can represent various objects and people.

History

The three kings cake takes its name from the

Biblical Magi The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the ...

who are also referred to as the three kings. In

Western Christian Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...

tradition, Epiphany (also known as "Three Kings Day") celebrates the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child. The Eve of Epiphany is known as

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

, which is the last day of the

Christmas season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

, and Epiphany Day itself commences the Epiphany season. The three kings cake originated in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

in Europe whence Spanish and French settlers brought it to colonial America. It often includes a statue of the

and it is believed that the individual who discovers it will have good fortune. The three kings cake is consumed throughout Epiphanytide until the first day of Lent,

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent (the six weeks of penitence before Easter). It is observed by Catholics in the ...

Regional variants

French-speaking countries and regions

In northern France,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

it is called galette des rois in French or koningentaart in

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

Dutch. In most of France it is a

puff pastry Puff pastry, also known as ', is a flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough (') and butter or other solid fat ('). The butter is put inside the dough (or vice versa), making a ' that is repeatedly folded and rolled out befo ...

filled with

frangipane Frangipane ( , ) is a sweet almond-flavored custard used in a variety of ways including cakes and such pastries as the Bakewell tart, conversation tart, Jésuite and pithivier. A French spelling from a 1674 cookbook is ''franchipane'' with t ...

. A paper crown is included with purchased cakes to crown the "king" or queen who finds the "fève" or bean hidden inside the cake. To ensure a random distribution of the pieces, the youngest person is to place themselves under the table and name the recipient of each piece as they are cut. A 2014 survey reported that 85 percent of French people celebrated the Epiphany with the cake, with nine per cent of the population enjoying more than five sittings. Sixty-eight per cent confessed to rigging the cake so that children found the fève.

German-speaking countries

The German and Swiss ''Dreikönigskuchen'' 'three kings cake' are shaped like wreathes or rounds, and uses an almond as the fève.

Portugal

Bolo-rei () is a traditional

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

cake eaten from the beginning of December until Epiphany. The recipe is derived from the French which found its way to Portugal during the 1800s when ' opened as the Portuguese monarchy's official bakery in 1829. The cake is round with a large hole in the centre, resembling a crown covered with crystallized and dried fruit. It is baked from a soft, white dough, with raisins, various nuts and crystallized fruit. Also included is the dried faba bean, and tradition dictates that whoever finds the fava has to pay for the cake next year.

Spanish-speaking countries

The roscón de reyes is celebrated in Spain, Latin America and the United States. Recipes vary from country to country and between cultures but tend to be similar. It generally has an oval shape due to the need to make cakes large enough for large groups. For decoration, figs,

quince The quince (; ''Cydonia oblonga'') is the sole member of the genus ''Cydonia'' in the Malinae subtribe (which also contains apples and pears, among other fruits) of the Rosaceae family. It is a deciduous tree that bears hard, aromatic bright ...

cherries A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus '' Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The ...

, or dried and

candied fruit Candied fruit, also known as glacé fruit, is whole fruit, smaller pieces of fruit, or pieces of peel, placed in heated sugar syrup, which absorbs the moisture from within the fruit and eventually preserves it. Depending on the size and type of ...

s are often, but not exclusively, used. The tradition of placing a bean, candy or figurine of the

Child Jesus The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, a ...

inside the cake is followed. The figurine of the baby Jesus hidden in the bread represents the flight of the Holy Family, fleeing from

Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renova ...

's Massacre of the Innocents. Whoever finds the baby Jesus figurine is blessed and must take the figurine to the nearest church on

Candlemas Day Candlemas (also spelled Candlemass), also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday commemorating the presenta ...

or host a party that day. The "crown of the Almudena" () is a variation of the Spanish associated with

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. In 1978, the Madrid confectioners held a contest for a new sweet representing the city and the winner was a smaller without liquor or lemon or orange peel or

orange blossom water Orange flower Orange flower water, or orange blossom water, is a clear aromatic by-product of the distillation of fresh bitter-orange blossoms for their essential oil. Uses This essential water has traditionally been used as an aromatizer in ...

. Instead it is covered with an orange-juice syrup, so the final taste is similar. It has no prizes or beans in the dough. It is sold around

9 November Events Pre-1600 * 694 – At the Seventeenth Council of Toledo, Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims, sentencing all Jews to slavery. *1277 – The Treaty of Aberconwy, a humiliating settlement f ...

, the day of Our Lady of Almudena, patron saint of Madrid. It is usually sold with a cardboard crown in the hole.

United Kingdom

The Twelfth Cake, Twelfth-night cake, or Twelfth-tide cakeAlan Davidson, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Food'', 1st ed., , ''s.v.'' 'Twelfth Night cake', p. 814 was once popular in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

on Twelfth Night. It was frequently baked with a bean hidden in one side and a

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

hidden in the other; the man/lord finding the bean became King for the night, while the woman/lady finding the pea became the Queen – also known as the Lord or Lady of Misrule. Earlier, in the time of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, there was only a Lord of Misrule, chosen by the hidden bean, reflected in Shakespeare's play ''

''.

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

recorded a party in London on Epiphany night 1659/1660, and described the role the cake played in the choosing of a "King" and "Queen" for the occasion: "...to my cousin Stradwick, where, after a good supper, there being there my father, mothers, brothers, and sister, my cousin Scott and his wife, Mr. Drawwater and his wife, and her brother, Mr. Stradwick, we had a brave cake brought us, and in the choosing, Pall was Queen and Mr. Stradwick was King. After that my wife and I bid adieu and came home, it being still a great frost." Although still occasionally found in the United Kingdom, as the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

curtailed the celebration of the 12 days of Christmas during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

, the cake declined in popularity to be replaced by the

Christmas cake Christmas cake is a type of cake, often fruitcake, served at Christmas time in many countries. British variations Christmas cake is an English tradition that began as plum porridge. A traditional English Christmas cake is made with moist Zant ...

. 18th century actor Robert Baddeley's will bequeathed £3 per annum to serve wine, punch and a Twelfth Night cake to the performers of the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

in the green room each Twelfth Night; the ceremony of the "Baddeley Cake" has remained a regular event, missed only 13 times in over 200 years, during wartimes or theatre closures.

United States

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

and parts of the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

region historically settled by the French, king cake is associated with

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fa ...

and is traditionally served from Epiphany until

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival t ...

. and recently year-round. It may have been introduced by

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

settlers in 1718, or by the French in 1870. It comes in a number of styles. The most simple, said to be the most traditional, is a ring of twisted

cinnamon roll A cinnamon roll (also known as cinnamon bun, cinnamon swirl, cinnamon Danish and cinnamon snail) is a sweet roll commonly served in Northern Europe (mainly in Nordic countries, but also in Austria and Germany) and North America. In Sweden it ...

-style dough. It may be topped with icing or sugar, which may be colored to show the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. Cakes may also be filled with

cream cheese Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream.Oxford English Dictionary Stabilizers such as carob bean gum and carrageenan are often added in industrial production. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration de ...

, praline, cinnamon, or strawberry. The "Zulu King Cake" has chocolate icing with a coconut filling. Traditionally, a small porcelain baby, symbolizing Jesus, is hidden in the king cake and is a way for residents of New Orleans to celebrate their Christian faith. The baby symbolizes luck and prosperity to whoever finds it. That person is also responsible for purchasing next year's cake or hosting the next Mardi Gras party. Bakers have recently been placing the baby outside of the cake to avoid liability for any choking hazard. In 2009 the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

introduced the King Cake Baby as a seasonal

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as ...

. The New Orleans Zephyrs also played as the

Baby Cakes "Baby Cakes" is the only single released by British garage trio 3 of a Kind. It debuted atop the UK Singles Chart on 15 August 2004, becoming the band's only chart hit. '' Mixmag'' included "Baby Cakes" on their "40 of the best UK garage tr ...

for a few seasons before relocating.

Gallery

File:Bolo Rei.jpg, Portuguese Bolo Rei File:Roscón de Reyes - Mallorquina.jpg, ' File:Rosca de reyes.jpg, Mexican Rosca de reyes File:Grosser Dreikönigskuchen.JPG, Dreikönigskuchen in Switzerland

References

Bibliography

* 1991. ''Tradiciones Mexicanas''. Pg 22, 31. Mexico, D.F., Ed. Diana S.A. de C.V., * 1998. ''Fiestas de México''. Pg. 76, Mexico, D.F., Panorama Editorial S.A. de C.V, * Primarily subhead ''Popular Merrymaking'' under ''Liturgy and Custom''. * ''Christmas Trivia'' edited by Jennie Miller Helderman, Mary Caulkins. Gramercy, 2002 * Marix-Evans, Martin. ''The Twelve Days of Christmas''. Peter Pauper Press, 2002 * Bowler, Gerry. ''The World Encyclopedia of Christmas''. McClelland & Stewart, 2004 * Collins, Ace. ''Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas''. Zondervan, 2003

External links

*
Recipes: Portugal’s ''Bolo Rei''EuroMaxx A La Carte ''Bolo Rei'' from Portugal recipeA State Mandated Christmas Bonus
a blog post by the

Law Library of Congress The Law Library of Congress is the law library of the United States Congress. The Law Library of Congress holds the single most comprehensive and authoritative collection of domestic, foreign, and international legal materials in the world. Es ...

, makes reference to the '. {{DEFAULTSORT:King Cake Christmas food Culture of New Orleans Epiphany (holiday) Sweet breads Yeast breads Carnival foods Cuisine of New Orleans Christmas in Spain Christmas in the United Kingdom French cakes Catholic cuisine Christmas cakes