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King Cake or Galette des Rois | ||
 A king cake (sometimes rendered as king cake or kings' cake) is a type of cake associated with the festival of Epiphany in the Christmas season in a number of countries, and in other places with Mardi gras and Carnival.
Baked in the shape of a circle to represent the unity of Christianity, the bread is decorated with icing and colored sugars denoting the three Kings who visited the baby Jesus on the 12th day after Christmas, the day of Epiphany - January 6. A small figure of the baby Jesus is placed inside the bread and the person receiving the piece of bread containing the figure is the one responsible for making the King Cake the following year. Origin: Originated in France and bought to America by French. History: The history of the King's Cake travels back to the pre-Christian religions of Europe where a man was chosen to be the "sacred king" for a year and then sacrificed to ensure a good harvest. The King's Cake was introduced to New Orleans with the French settlers around 1870 and is still a large part of the Carnival Season and Mardi Gras today. |