Let Them Eat King Cake
Happy Mardi Gras! Yay!!!! I am so ready to eat King Cake! The bakery here at the castle has been hoppin’. It takes all day for me to make King Cake, cuz you know I can’t just make one. One for each of my princes, one for the castle and one for the Hubs to take to work. Lot’s of work, but so worth it!
As I told you all in my last post, Mardi Gras is the celebration of the coming of the Magi (wisemen) 12 days after Christmas, bearing gifts for the Christ Child. Mardi Gras is always on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday which is the beginning of lent.
When you think of Mardi Gras you probably think of wild parades in New Orleans, however Mardi Gras is celebrated all along the Gulf Coast here in America. Part of that celebration is the King Cake.
What is King Cake you ask? King cake is a delicious sweet bread, kinda like a cinnamon roll, that is traditionally round, symbolizing the circular route the wisemen took to confuse King Herod and his army from following them to the baby Jesus. (No wonder it took three men 12 days to get there!) The cake is topped with heavenly icing and sprinkled with colored sugar in the three colors of Mardi Gras. The three colors are: Purple (representing Justice), Green (representing Faith) and Gold (representing Power).
A tiny plastic baby (symbolic of the baby Jesus) is hidden inside the cake for people to find. In the past there were other hidden items placed inside the cake such as coins, beans and plastic jewelry (representing the gifts from the wisemen). Apparently, centuries ago, the choosing of the Mardi Gras Queen was determined by who found the Baby Jesus within the cake. Today, finding the baby is a sign of good luck and in some cultures it is customary for the person finding the Baby Jesus to bring the King Cake to the next party or to host the next King Cake party.
Today, King Cake is part of a tradition that brings friends and family together to celebrate a joyous season. Who doesn’t love that? Since I don’t live on the Gulf Coast, I make my own King Cake and if I do say so myself, it is yummo. I love me some Mardi Gras!
Y’all know I am the Queen, so I say Let’s get this party started… Let them eat King Cake and Let the Good Times Roll!
Happy Mardi Gras!
Until next time…..
Tammy