Indulge in King Cake

Mardi Gras is coming up, and the most delicious tradition of this season is king cake. Learn about the origin and history of king cake around the world, how to make king cake yourself, and why you might find a plastic baby hidden in your slice. (Don’t be alarmed; it’s good luck!)

What Is a King Cake?

The answer to this question depends on where in the world you’re eating king cake. Many varieties are made with a brioche dough, baked into a round cake or in a ring. The shape symbolizes a king’s crown. King cake can be filled with cream cheese, chocolate, or almond paste. It might also be topped with candied fruit or covered in glaze and sprinkles.

Origin of King Cakes

The roots of king cake are in Catholic religious observance, though you don’t have to be Catholic to indulge in this treat. King cake first began in the Middle Ages in Europe to honor the three wise men who brought gifts to the baby Jesus. On January 6, known as Epiphany or Twelfth Night, people ate cakes in the shape of crowns.

Nowadays, king cake is served not only on Epiphany, but throughout the Carnival season between Epiphany and Mardi Gras. The day after Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday) is Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent. Carnival is full of festivity and indulgences like cake, while Lent is characterized by solemn and austere religious observance through Easter Sunday. King cake is no longer on the menu once Lent begins.

King Cakes Around the World

If you’ve ever been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, or even if you’ve only seen pictures, you know the color theme is green, gold, and purple. King cakes made in Louisiana are ring-shaped, glazed with sweet white icing and decorated with sprinkles in these signature colors. Green represents faith, gold is for power, and purple means justice.

King cakes in European countries are somewhat different from Louisiana king cakes. French and Belgian king cake is called galette des rois. These cakes are round, not ring-shaped, and made from puff pastry. Galette des rois may be filled with almond cream.

In Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries, king cake is called rosca de reyes. It’s ring-shaped and topped with candied fruit to resemble jewels in a crown, like in the photo at the top of this page. Portuguese king cake is similar to rosca de reyes, but it’s called bolo rei.

Bulgarian king cake is called banitsa, and it’s made of phyllo dough. Banitsa is filled with cheese, along with good luck charms and paper fortunes.

Finally, king cake is known as vasilopita in Greece. It looks like galette des rois, except it’s often topped with almonds in the shape of the current year.

Symbolism in King Cakes

We’re sure you were curious about our comment in our initial paragraph about finding a plastic baby in your slice of king cake. King cake has traditionally included an object of some sort, from beans to coins to tiny plastic babies. The original object was a fava bean, and it symbolized good luck. The person who found it was declared king for the day and was required to bring a cake to the next year’s celebration.

Even now, this tradition holds true for king cakes in Louisiana, though it was McKenzie’s Bakery that started tucking plastic babies into their king cakes over 50 years ago. You can order a king cake from various New Orleans-area bakeries, or you can bake your own. But insert the baby after the cake is baked, for safety’s sake.

Make Your Own King Cake

Considering it costs over $50 to buy and ship a king cake from Louisiana, we understand if you’d prefer to try making one on your own. The good news is that it's easier than you might think.

Start with this king cake mix you can get at Cost Plus World Market, either at a store nearby or online. The reviews are generally good, though you may want to stock up on frosting and sprinkles. It even comes with a plastic baby; again, please wait until the cake is out of the oven before inserting the baby.

Another easy option is this recipe from The Spruce Eats which uses crescent roll dough. Blend cream cheese and brown sugar for the filling, and then wrap the crescent roll strips around it. Click through to see helpful pictures that make it clear how to assemble your king cake. They also suggest using a whole almond instead of a plastic baby, which would be safe to bake.

If you’re ready to go all out, try this recipe from King Arthur Flour. The cake is actually a sweet yeasted bread, made with butter, milk, and eggs, plus nutmeg and lemon zest for flavor. The filling is primarily cream cheese and sugar, and the frosting is a standard confectioner’s sugar glaze. It’s not a difficult recipe at all, though there is some inactive prep time, so plan ahead. Don’t forget the green, gold, and purple sugar sprinkles, and we like the idea of adding candied cherries to the top as well.