Speaking of Food: A Chef's Blog

The King is here! King Cake that is.....

King Cake

 Now that the holidays have past and Mardi Gras is just   around    the corner, thoughts here in New Orleans turn to King cake. In t this article we will take a brief look at the history and tradition of King cake and I'll give you a neat trick for preparing the cake in under 20 minutes!


King cakes date back to the 1660's. They are found in Latin, Spanish, and French origins but all have the same meaning. It's a celebration of the Epiphany and named after the three wise men that visited the baby Jesus on the eve of his birth.

King cakes are traditionally a cinnamon sweet dough cake,

Baby Figurines

baked in a circle and glazed with colored sugar crystals.

Before baking, a small plastic baby figurine is hidden inside the cake.  The tradition is the person who is served the slice of cake with the baby is to have good fortune for the rest of the year. One other thing, they are also responsible for supplying the King cake for next years party.

Cake Ingredients 

Now, here's a neat trick for easily preparing a King cake. You won't even need a mixing bowl!

1)     Open the roll of Cinnamon buns and separate them. Gently, un-roll each individual bun producing a long strand of cinnamon dough.

2)     Using three strands of dough, braid them their entire length. Repeat until all strands have been braided. Now, hide the baby in one of the strands.

3)     On a parchment lined sheet tray, place the braids in a circular pattern and pinch the ends of the braids together to produce one continuous circle.

4)     Bake in a preheated 350 degree until golden and when tapped, produces a hollow sound, generally around 16-18 minutes.

5)     Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Glaze with icing and decorate with the colored sugar crystal.  Now that was easy!

King Cake

Enjoy the Mardi Gras season and have a slice of King cake for me!

Ciao,

Chef Joe

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