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A king cake, also known as a three kings cake, is a cake associated in many countries with Epiphany. After the cake is cut, whoever gets the fève wins a prize. The three kings cake takes its name from the Biblical Magi who are also referred to as the three kings. Northern French style galette des rois.
In northern France, Quebec, Luxembourg and Belgium it is called galette des rois in French or koningentaart in Flemish Dutch. In most of France it is a puff pastry filled with frangipane. A paper crown is included with purchased cakes to crown the “king” or queen who finds the “fève” or bean hidden inside the cake. To ensure a random distribution of the pieces, the youngest person is to place themselves under the table and name the recipient of each piece as they are cut.
A 2014 survey reported that 85 per cent of French people celebrated the Epiphany with the cake, with nine per cent of the population enjoying more than five sittings. Sixty-eight per cent confessed to rigging the cake so that children found the fève. The German and Swiss Dreikönigskuchen ‘Three king cake’ are shaped like wreathes or rounds, and uses an almond as the fève. Portuguese cake eaten from the beginning of December until Epiphany. The recipe is derived from the French galette des rois which found its way to Portugal during the 1800s when Confeitaria Nacional opened as the Portuguese monarchy’s official bakery in 1829. The cake is round with a large hole in the centre, resembling a crown covered with crystallized and dried fruit. It is baked from a soft, white dough, with raisins, various nuts and crystallized fruit.
Also included is the dried faba bean, and tradition dictates that whoever finds the fava has to pay for the cake next year. The roscón de reyes is celebrated in Spain, Latin America and the United States. Recipes vary from country to country and between cultures but tend to be similar. It generally has an oval shape due to the need to make cakes large enough for large groups.
The tradition of placing a bean, candy or figurine of the Child Jesus inside the cake is followed. The figurine of the baby Jesus hidden in the bread represents the flight of the Holy Family, fleeing from Herod the Great’s Massacre of the Innocents. The Twelfth Cake, Twelfth-night cake, or Twelfth-tide cake was once popular in the United Kingdom on Twelfth Night. 1660, and described the role the cake played in the choosing of a “King” and “Queen” for the occasion: “to my cousin Stradwick, where, after a good supper, there being there my father, mothers, brothers, and sister, my cousin Scott and his wife, Mr. Drawwater and his wife, and her brother, Mr.
Although still occasionally found in the United Kingdom, as the Industrial Revolution curtailed the celebration of the 12 days of Christmas during the Victorian era, the cake declined in popularity to be replaced by the Christmas cake. It comes in a number of styles. The most simple, said to be the most traditional, is a ring of twisted cinnamon roll-style dough. It may be topped with icing or sugar, which may be colored to show the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. Cakes may also be filled with cream cheese, praline, cinnamon, or strawberry.