Maybe you’ve just started learning about Mardi Gras, or maybe you’ve celebrated it your whole life. Either way, we’ve compiled a list of Mardi Gras king cake traditions for you to enjoy.
The king cake is one of the most recognizable (and delicious) symbols of Mardi Gras. Like many of the aspects of Mardi Gras, it has deep religious meaning.
If you’re lucky, when you cut into your king cake, you might find a plastic baby. Don’t be alarmed, this king cake baby isn’t a mistake – it’s actually one of the elements of the Mardi Gras king cake that has religious symbolism, as it represents the baby Jesus.
Keep reading to learn more about king cakes, including what they look like, the Mardi Gras king cake traditions that are practiced today and more religious history behind this treat.
If you have kids and want to explain the king cake and other traditions of Mardi Gras to them in a fun way, make sure to get our free Mardi Gras word search and word scramble.
What is a king cake?
Contrary to their name, king cakes aren’t actually cakes at all. They are a ring shaped sweet bread which has similarities to both cinnamon rolls and brioche bread.
The dough of the Mardi Gras king cake is flavored with cinnamon sugar, which is twisted or braided to form a ring or oval shape. It is then baked, iced and topped with sanding sugar.
The sanding sugar is sprinkled in bands of purple, green and gold on top of the cake, to represent the colors of Mardi Gras. The green symbolizes faith, the purple represents justice, and the gold symbolizes power.
Like many holiday breads, the king cake exists with difference names, appearances and recipes in various parts of the world. One thing they all have in common is a hidden treat inside of the cake, referred to as a fève.
The term fève is French for bean, which is what was originally hidden inside the French version of a king cake, the gallette des rois. In the king cakes you find in the United States, the fève is a plastic or porcelain baby.
King cake baby meaning
If you’re new to celebrating Mardi Gras, or enjoying king cakes you might be wondering “why is there a baby in the king cake?”.
King cakes are not only filled with cinnamon sugar and a plastic baby, but also lots of religious meaning. The Mardi Gras king cake baby represents the baby Jesus. If you get the slice of king cake with the baby in it, you will have a prosperous and lucky year!
The plastic babies in king cakes used to be baked into the king cakes. However, for health reasons, the baby is now normally inserted into the king cake after baking (because plastic really shouldn’t go in the oven).
If you buy a premade Mardi Gras king cake, they usually include the baby on the side and you can cut a slit in the bottom to insert it into the cake. If you’re making a homemade king cake this year, don’t forget to get a plastic baby to hide inside yours!
Religious king cake meaning
The Mardi Gras king cake baby isn’t the only part of the king cake meaning with religious significance. Everything from the name of this cinnamon flavored bread to when we eat it holds religious meaning.
The first day king cake is eaten during the year is January 6, a holy day in the Christian calendar. This day is referred to as Epiphany, Three Kings Day and Twelfth Night.
Exactly twelve days after Christmas, the Three Wise Men visited the baby Jesus and brought him gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh. The Three Wise Men are also referred to as the Magi, or the Three Kings.
These Three Kings were the inspiration for the king cake, formerly called the cake of the Three Kings. It is ideal to consume king cake the day they visited the baby Jesus.
Another element that represents the Three Wise Men is the three stranded braid used to make many Mardi Gras king cakes.
King cake traditions
One of the king cake traditions states that king cake should only be consumed between Epiphany (January 6) and Mardi Gras. If you eat a king cake outside of those dates, it will bring rain on the next Mardi Gras, which is bad luck.
So even if you see king cake before Epiphany or after Mardi Gras you shouldn’t be tempted to eat it. Everyone who believes the superstition is hoping you wait for the sake of a sunny day!
Another king cake tradition revolves around the king cake baby. There is only one baby hidden inside the king cake, and the person who gets the slice with the baby is crowned “king” or “queen” for a day and is thought to have good luck and prosperity for the coming year.
The person who gets the slice of king cake with the baby inside is also responsible for throwing the next year’s Mardi Gras party, and supplying the king cake for it, since they are believed to have a prosperous year ahead.
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About the author
Since graduating from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Jess has been living and working in Los Angeles, CA. She is a freelance writer, specializing in content related to fashion, food and drink and film industry topics. Find out more about Jess here.