Do you know about King Cakes and Mardi Gras.....

The King Cake and Mardi Gras

The King Cake, a tradition long associated with Carnival or Mardi Gras is usually oval shaped, with a texture more like french bread or doughnuts than a typical cake.
It is doughnut shaped but it size is the same as a regular rectangle birthday cake.

Often filled with delightful fruit, cream cheese, nuts, chocolate and more. Coated with either a sweet granulated color sugar coating or drizzled with a semi liquid icing concoction and some then times topped off with nuts. Colored in traditional Mardi Gras colors (Purple, Green and Gold).

The cake has a history dating to 12th century France.  where the cake would be baked on the eve of January 6 ( known as Epiphany)  to celebrate the visit to the Christ Child by the three Kings.

Brought to America by the French in the 18th century, where it remained associated with the Epiphany until the 19th century when it became a more elaborate Mardi Gras custom.

January 6th is when the first cake of the season was served in New Orleans.

It was introduced to organized Mardi Gras Associations and Krewes by the Krewe of Cosmo in the 1800’s when they decided to present the cake to the ladies and the lady finding the golden bean would become the Queen of Cosmos for that Mardi Gras.

Today a  figure of baby is placed inside. Who ever the lucky person is to get the piece with the baby is said to have good fortune for the year, but is also responsible for bringing the next King Cake.  

In the U.S., cakes are brought to offices, school, meetings and parties, and the person finding the baby in their piece must bring a king cake the next day

King cakes are commonly severed from the twelfth night after Christmas and continues on until Mardi Gras day which is Fat Tuesday the day before Ash Wednesday.