The History of the King Cake

King Cake, also known as Kings Cake, is a coffee cake-style pastry that's associated with both the Epiphany festival during the Christmas season and also, the pre-Lent celebration, Mardi Gras.

The King Cake's origins can be traced as far back as to the Middle Ages in Europe, but this tradition was first introduced to settlers in New Orleans in the 1870's.

Typically the cake is decorated in the three royal colors: purple, which signifies justice, green for faith, and gold for power. These colors were chosen to resemble a jeweled crown in honor of the three Wise Men who visited the Christ Child on the Epiphany.

America's Gulf Coast celebrations typically place a plastic baby into their King cake as a representation of Baby Jesus. Tradition states that the person who discovers the baby in a slice must provide the King Cake at the following year's celebration.

Start your own tradition and bake a King Cake the old-fashioned way. Just be sure to tell your guests that a tiny plastic baby awaits inside one of the slices!

In the Southern region of America, most notable for their Mardi Gras celebrations, the King Cake is simple and said to be the most traditional, made from a ring of twisted bread dough and topped with a sugar glaze. Purple, green and gold food coloring or edible glitter is added to the frosting to incorporate the three notable colors of the holiday.

If you run out of time or if your friends have consumed too many of those Louisiana Hurricanes to safely operate kitchen machinery, you can shop online and have one shipped out to you from any bakery.