King Cake History

A king cake (kingcake, kings' cake, king's cake, or three kings cake) is a type of cake associated the pre-Lenten celebrations of Mardi Gras / Carnival.  In Louisiana, and other Mardi Gras celebrating areas the king cake is closely associated with Mardi Gras traditions and is served throughout the Carnival season, which lasts from Epiphany Eve to Fat Tuesday. The tradition was brought to Louisiana from France and Spain. King cake parties in Louisiana are documented back to the eighteenth century, while European traditions date to the mid-1600s.

 The king cake of the New Orleans tradition comes in a number of styles. The most simple, said to be the most traditional, is a ring of, fairly dry, twisted bread similar to that used in brioche topped with icing or sugar, usually colored purple, green, and gold (the traditional Mardi Gras colors) with food coloring. There are many variants, some in more recent years featuring a filling - the most common being cream cheese, praline, cinnamon, or strawberry.  However, in other parts of Louisiana, particularly in and around Lafayette, king cakes tend to be richer, more moist, and generously filled with everything from cream cheese to a variety of fruit or creme fillings (oftentimes combined with cream cheese).

The cake has a small trinket (often a small plastic baby, said to represent Baby Jesus) inside (or sometimes placed underneath), and the person who gets the piece of cake with the trinket has various privileges and obligations. In past generations the trinket might have been a coin or even a tiny golden bean. It has become customary in the Southern culture that whoever finds the trinket must provide the next king cake or host the next Mardi Gras party.
