King cake
Template:Short description Template:Infobox food
A king cake, also known as a three kings cake or a baby cake, is a cake associated in many countries with Epiphany, the celebration of the Twelfth Night after Christmas.<ref name="Okholm2020">Template:Cite book</ref> Traditionally made with brioche dough, in most cases a Template:Lang (Template:Literal translation) such as a figurine representing the Christ Child, was hidden inside.<ref name="Barclay2012"/> After the cake is cut, whoever finds the fève in their slice wins a prize.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Barclay2012">Eliza Barclay: Is That a Plastic Baby Jesus in My Cake, National Public Radio from 2012-2-17(englisch)</ref> In a nod to tradition, a plastic baby figurine is often taped to the packaging of commercially produced cakes. Modern fèves can be made of other materials, but always represent the King or Baby Jesus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
The origin of the cake tradition was popularly believed to be related to the Roman Saturnalia.<ref name="@NatGeoFrance">Template:Cite web</ref> These were festivals dedicated to the god Saturn so that the Roman people, in general could celebrate the longer days that began to come after the winter solstice.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For this reason, Margaret Hasluck disputed the Greek tradition commemorating St. Basil's feast day with vasilopita, claiming that both customs had a common origin in the Saturnalia and Kronia.<ref>Margaret Hasluck, "The Basil-Cake of the Greek New Year", Folklore 38:2:143 (June 30, 1927) Template:JSTOR</ref>
In the Middle Ages, it was said that the king who was chosen had to pay the assembly a general round of drinks. To prevent cheating, the edible bean was replaced by a porcelain bean.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Christian tradition the cake commemorates the witness of the "Three Kings".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The earliest known reference to a king cake in North America, including a recipe, dates to 1649. An early French settler of Port Royal, Acadia (now Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia) was required to deliver annually to the lord of Port Royal and his wife, "on the eve of the Feast of Kings ... a round cake made with a quarter bushel of the finest white wheat flour, kneaded with six eggs and half a pound of the freshest butter, with a black bean placed in the cake’s edge ... to their château and seigneurial manor at Port Royal."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The tradition of the Mardi Gras king cake did not become established until the 20th-century, although the ubiquitous gold, purple and green sprinkles have been standard decoration since 1872. The cake is usually purchased at a shop. Many holiday foods have rituals and customs connected to the preparation of the food, but the customs of the kings cake mainly revolve around the fève.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sugar was always a big industry in New Orleans, where local bakeries took an active role in turning the cake into a modern cultural icon. Old-fashioned versions of the cake are basically a round braided brioche without filling but these days bakeries try to outdo one another with creative fillings.<ref name=kitchn>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Regional variants
French-speaking countries and regions
There are two different versions of the French king cake: the galette and the gâteau. The Template:Lang is a flaky puff pastry traditionally filled with frangipane. These days the filling may also be fruit, chocolate or cream-based fillings. It has become a tradition for pastry chefs to create innovative versions of the galette featuring ingredients like flavored liquors, candied fruits and ganache.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The gâteau des rois associated mainly with the region of Provence in the south of France is a brioche dough decorated with candied fruit and coarse sugar.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The Guianan galette (more commonly known as the Creole galette) is a traditional pastry of French Guianan cuisine. This is a Creole variant of the galette des rois which is eaten as a dessert during Epiphany.<ref name="famille">Le carnaval des familles</ref> It can be garnished with cream, coconut, guava, etc. It is consumed throughout the Carnival period (from the Epiphany until Lent, ending Ash Wednesday) and preferably accompanied by champagne.Template:Citation needed
A paper crown is included with purchased cakes to crown the "king" or "queen" who finds the "Template:Lang" or bean, or coin 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> When store-bought, the Template:Lang can be a tiny porcelain figurine of a religious character or, nowadays, a figurine referencing pop-culture or popular cartoons.Template:Cn
German-speaking countries
The German and Swiss Dreikönigskuchen 'three kings cakes' are shaped like wreathes or rounds, and use an almond as the fève.<ref name="ocf"/>
Portugal
Bolo-rei (Template:Literal translation) is a traditional Portuguese cake eaten from the beginning of December until Epiphany.<ref>A Portuguese Christmas Retrieved 12 August 2013</ref> The recipe is derived from the Southern French Template:Lang, which found its way to Portugal during the 1800s when Template:Lang<ref>Bolo-Rei: The King of Portuguese Christmas Cakes Retrieved 12 August 2013</ref> opened as the Portuguese monarchy's official bakery in 1829.<ref>The Battle for Lisbon’s best pastry Template:Webarchive Retrieved 12 August 2013</ref>
The cake is round with a large hole in the centre,<ref>A Foodie’s Guide to Christmas in Europe Retrieved 12 August 2013</ref> resembling a crown covered with crystallized and dried fruit.Template:Cn It is baked from a soft, white dough, with raisins, various nuts and crystallized fruit. Also included is the dried fava bean, and tradition dictates that whoever finds the fava has to pay for the cake next year.<ref>Bolo Rei Portuguese Kings Cake – A treat for your Christmas table recipe Retrieved 12 August 2013</ref>
Roscón de reyes
The roscón de reyes is eaten in Spain and Latin America. 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, quinces, cherries, or dried and candied fruits are often, but not exclusively, used.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Virginia Nylander Ebinger Aguinaldos: Christmas customs, music, and foods of the Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas Sunstone Press, 2008 Template:ISBN, page 234.</ref><ref name="baker"/>
In Spain the cake consists of a sweet brioche dough aromatised with orange blossom water and decorated with slices of candied or crystallized fruit of various colors. It can be filled with whipped cream, cream, almond paste or others. The figurine traditionally represents one of the Three Wise Men Biblical Magi. A dry broad bean is also introduced inside the roscón. It is tradition that whoever finds the bean pays for the roscón.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="baker">Beth Hensperger Beth Hensperger's bread made easy: a baker's first bread book Ten Speed Press, 2000 Template:ISBN, page 84</ref>
In Mexico, Central and South America, the figurine represents the Child Jesus. The figurine of the baby Jesus hidden in the bread represents the flight of the Holy Family, fleeing from Herod the Great'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<ref>. The name Candlemas is derived from the use of candles on liturgical observances, representing the light of Christ presented to the world (Template:Bibleverse).</ref> or host a party that day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
United Kingdom
The Twelfth cake, Twelfth-night cake, or Twelfth-tide cake<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, 1st edition, 1916, s.v.</ref><ref name="ocf">Alan Davidson, ed., The Oxford Companion to Food, 1st ed., Template:Isbn, s.v. 'Twelfth Night cake', p. 814</ref> was once popular in the United Kingdom on Twelfth Night. It was frequently baked with a bean hidden in one side and a pea 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<ref name="Macclain2013">Template:Cite web</ref> – also known as the Lord or Lady of Misrule.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Earlier, in the time of Shakespeare, there was only a Lord of Misrule, chosen by the hidden bean, reflected in Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Samuel Pepys 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, mother, 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."<ref>Diary of Samuel Pepys</ref>
Although still occasionally found in the United Kingdom, as the Industrial Revolution curtailed the celebration of the 12 days of Christmas during the Victorian era,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the cake declined in popularity to be replaced by the Christmas cake. 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 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.<ref name="GO">Template:Cite web</ref>
United States
In Louisiana and parts of the Gulf Coast region historically settled by the French, king cake is associated with Mardi Gras and is traditionally served from Epiphany until Carnival<ref name="laylaeplett">Template:Cite web</ref> and recently year-round.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It may have been introduced by Basque settlers in 1718,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> or by the French in 1870.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
It comes in a number of styles. The simplest, said to be the most traditional, is a ring of twisted cinnamon roll-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.<ref name="laylaeplett" /> Cakes may also be filled with cream cheese, praline, cinnamon, or an assortment of fruit fillings.<ref name="stanonis">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Traditionally, a small plastic baby,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> symbolizing Jesus, is hidden in the king cake and is a way for residents of Louisiana to celebrate their Christian faith.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The baby symbolizes luck and prosperity to whoever finds it. That person is also responsible for purchasing next week's cake<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> or hosting the next Mardi Gras party.<ref name="stanonis" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Often, bakers place the baby outside of the cake, leaving the purchaser to hide it themselves. This is usually to avoid liability for any choking hazard.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2009, the New Orleans Pelicans basketball team introduced the King Cake Baby as a seasonal mascot.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The New Orleans Baby Cakes (formerly the Zephyrs) were a AAA baseball team that played their final three seasons (2017–2019) with that name before relocating and becoming the Wichita Wind Surge.Template:Cn
Gallery
-
Portuguese Bolo Rei -
-
Mexican Rosca de reyes -
Dreikönigskuchen in Switzerland
See also
- Barmbrack – a bread associated with Hallowe'en in Ireland, where an item (often a ring) is placed inside the bread, with the person who receives it considered fortunate.
- Black bun – a Scottish fruit cake covered with pastry, originally eaten on Twelfth Night but now enjoyed at Hogmanay.
- Bean-feast
- Bread in Spain
- Ensaïmada
- Panettone – an Italian sweet bread served during the Christmas period.
References
Bibliography
- 1991. Tradiciones Mexicanas. Pg 22, 31. Mexico, D.F., Ed. Diana S.A. de C.V., Template:ISBN
- 1998. Fiestas de México. Pg. 76, Mexico, D.F., Panorama Editorial S.A. de C.V, Template:ISBN
- 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
- Template:Cite NIE
- Template:CathEncy
- Recipes: Portugal’s Bolo Rei
- EuroMaxx A La Carte Bolo Rei from Portugal recipe
- A State Mandated Christmas Bonus, a blog post by the Law Library of Congress, makes reference to the Template:Lang.
Template:Epiphany Template:Cakes Template:Pastries Template:Mexican cuisine Template:Authority control Template:Use dmy dates