What is a King Cake anyway?
As Fat Tuesday approaches (Feb 21), we’ve been getting more and more questions about Mardi Gras, King Cakes, and why we make them. So here we go…a deep dive into the colorful history of Mardi Gras!
You might be familiar with the debaucherous depictions of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. But this fun holiday is actually rooted in the religious holiday of the Epiphany, or Three Kings’ Day. This Christian feast day commemorates the baptism of Jesus and the three kings visiting, bearing gifts. Throughout Europe, King Cakes were made in an oval shape to mimic the crown of a king, and to celebrate the unity of people of all faiths. King Cakes are decorated in royal colors with gold representing power, purple representing justice, and green representing faith. Traditionally, a special surprise fève, usually a porcelain figurine of a saint or baby Jesus, was baked inside the king cake. Around 1870, the French brought the King Cake tradition to Louisiana. Since then, it’s become synonymous with Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, and the French Quarter.
When I took my son to college in New Orleans in 2014, I discovered that Mardi Gras isn’t just one day. It’s a season. Mardi Gras Season - or Carnival depending on where you are - starts with Three Kings’ Day on January 6 and culminates the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday”, reflecting the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the fasting of the Lenten season. The Mardi Gras or Carnival festival season is full of parades, balls, revelry, music, good food, and good drink.
In New Orleans, they really like to laissez les bons temps rouler (“let the good times roll”) - with second line parades (brass bands) marching through the streets, masquerade balls, MANY costumed parades organized by social clubs known as krewes, and of course, so much king cake. I fell in love with the joyful tradition of Mardi Gras and decided we needed some of that in DC, especially during the cold and dreary winter months. So every year, from January 6 to Fat Tuesday, we celebrate the rich history of Mardi Gras by baking King Cakes full of color, flavor, and a heavy sprinkling of fun!
In New Orleans, you can find EVERY flavor of King Cake. I’ve even seen a savory Crawfish Etouffee King Cake! Not sure about that one… We make our King Cakes from a buttery brioche dough in Cinnamon (one of the classic flavors) and Raspberry. We put the baby on the side (so no one accidentally chokes on it!) and you can hide it in the cake yourself. Tradition has it, that if you find the baby, you are king (or queen!) for the day - AND you have to buy the next king cake.
Want to know more? Continue your Mardi Gras journey here:
Second Line: Second Line Blues: A Brief History of New Orleans Brass | Reverb News
A little more Mardi Gras history: www.parade.com/living/mardi-gras
Mardi Gras in New Orleans: https://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/history/
