Mardi Gras King Cake
The only food designated as absolutely necessary during Mardi Gras
is “king cake,” a food so integrated into the festival
that today's Carnival queens owe their reign to it. The story begins
with the observance of Twelfth Night, or Epiphany, a religious holiday
that can be traced back to the middle of the fourth century. There
was also a separate feast of the kings in the early ninth century,
in which Roman children drew lots with beans to see who would be
king. Much later, in England, a large cake containing a bean was
called a Twelfth-Cake. The cake was divided up and a bean was hidden
in one of the pieces; whoever found the bean was proclaimed King
of the Bean. Even Mary, Queen of Scots, celebrated this tradition,
but with a queen, of course.
Now the story veers off to the title “Lord of Misrule,” which
comes from the English tradition of having a leader of revelry who
saw to it that
during the merry season all had a good time. In New Orleans, the fourth organization
to proclaim itself as an official Carnival krewe was called the Twelfth Night
Revelers, and who should be their king but the Lord of Misrule? Krewe members
instituted the tradition of hiding a golden bean in a giant cake, which was
presented at their first Tableau Ball in 1870, though not so gracefully.
Pieces of the cake were practically tossed at the ladies, and so
the bean was lost.
The next year, the art perfected, the Lord of Misrule carved slices for the
ladies. Emma Butler chose the slice with the bean and thus became the first
Queen of Carnival.
The cake today is made from yeast dough, braided with cinnamon
and sugar, baked, and topped with colored sugar in the royal Carnival
colors, purple,
green,
and gold. Bakeries in New Orleans make between 750,000 and 850,000 cakes
every year. Since we cannot all be kings or queens, the tradition now states
that
he who gets the bean or plastic baby doll baked inside the cake must throw
the next party.
New Orleans King Cake
1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
¼
cup sugar
½
stick butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
colored decorating sugars, green, purple, and yellow
plastic baby or bean
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Roll the bread dough out into
a large rectangle and spread it with the butter. Combine the
sugar,
cinnamon, and nutmeg and sprinkle the mixture over the buttered
dough. Roll the dough into a long tube and then twist and connect
the ends
to make an oval ring. Place the dough on a greased cookie sheet
and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Move to a platter
and
hide the baby or bean inside. Combine the confectioner’s sugar
with enough water or milk to make a runny glaze and pour it over
the warm cake. Sprinkle with the colored decorating sugars, alternating
bands of the three colors. Serve in 2-3 inch pieces.
According to
tradition, whoever finds the baby in their piece has to host
the Mardi Gras party next year.
Three King's Day Event Information More Information on King's Cake
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