First King cake. This was breakfast this morning for me. These came from Marguerite’s Cakes. They were fairly traditional cinnamon King cakes. A little too dry for my tastes but still very good. They also make them with various fillings. Raspberry and cream cheese is the version I like. In fact, I want one now that I’ve typed it.
Traditionally, bakers start making King cakes on Twelfth Night or Epiphany (January 6) and stop making them after Mardi Gras. There is a another tradition with King cakes. The baker puts a plastic doll/baby somewhere in the cake. Tradition holds that the person who gets the piece with the baby is to provide the next King cake. Some of us dive right in not thinking for a moment about the baby. There are about 5 of us left on this planet. We are a dying breed. These things are sold for $5-$25 and you would not believe what people will do to avoid getting the baby. Some I’ve noticed:
Slice very thin slices and then pick up 3 or 4 of said thin slices.
Swallow it whole and don’t tell anyone.
Spit it out and don’t tell anyone.
Don’t get any until someone gets the baby.
Ask if anyone got the baby yet or the more subtle “Who got the baby?”
We've already had two king cakes at our house. One sub-par one from Wal-Mart & one delicious one from Gambino's. Both traditional flavored since the boys aren't fond of the filled ones.
Speaking of going to great lengths to avoid getting the baby: From now until Mardi Gras, Jackson's class will have king cake two or three times a week and the child who gets the baby is responsible for bringing in the next king cake. There are 28 kids in his class. Jackson has been warned, he better not come home with the baby! Not only will it be a pain in the neck on a Tuesday night to go out again, once I'm home, it's also an expensive snack. Jackson of course thinks it's great fun and is dying to get the baby. I'm trying to convince him to just switch slices with the child next to him and I'll make sure he gets the baby at home, every time!
And I'd bet Jackson is not the only kid in his class with those instructions. One poor kid will probably get the baby six times in a row.
MY mother would never approve of such antics.
We do King Cake once a week in my class. We program who is going to get the baby so that no one gets it twice. Sometimes the baker hides the darn baby so well, that we can't find it before passing out the pieces. The kids love getting the baby.
For posterity, I will recount this anecdote from the Clayton family archives regarding King Cakes. Daddy, and usually one of my friends, would send me a King Cake every year during Mardi Gras season. It was a little taste of home that I missed and was always thankful to have. Of course, it brought back memories of attending King Cake parties when I was in school and just the heralding in of the Mardi Gras season. My children also loved getting the Kings Cakes and the excitement of finding the baby in the piece of cake. I would strategically place the piece with the baby in it for each one of my children during their early years. Patrick, being the baby, still gets it done because I JUST can't let traditions go! They would announce before we ate the cake that they must be lucky because they always got the baby! They would remember the year before and the year before that and then here it was, they got it again. Smiles all around! Two years ago, Stephen witnessed the practice with extreme incredulity. In that moment it all came together for him and he was absolutely crestfallen, at age 20, to find out he hadn't gotten lucky all those times after all. I'm sorry he had to find out that way - but, I think, he's been doing okay since the revelation! It will probably turn up in a chapter of his Mommy Dearest book one day . . .
Oh, and we received a lovely King Cake yesterday from my favorite King Cake bakery, Gambino's, and we were all thrilled. Thank you to the King Cake Fairy!
Out here in Springfield, we have a bakery inside of a gas station, a Chevron. They make one of the best King cakes I have ever eaten! Its not the traditional one, which I find kinda dry and never enough cinnamon. They make it with a soft, flaky type dough, filled with all kinds of cheese cake fillings (blueberry, strawberry,lemon,etc) lots of sugary toppings, just yummy. I only get one/year cause its got to be 500cal. a slice, if not more. They are a little pricey, about 20.00 for a small, enough for 8-10 people. I'm going to get one today just thinking about it!!
For the record, I prefer Marguerite’s (These are the best I've ever had), Randazzo's, and Manny Randazzo's to Gambino's. Haydel's is also very good. Never tried the Chevron in Springfield. Sounds like a road trip is in order.
Greetings from the home of the king cake fairy! Glad you enjoyed it. Sue, I also remember a story about Brianne not remembering that tradition of getting the baby, since she was only the baby herself for two years! Poor middle child.
I remember when we came down for Mardi Gras and having a King Cake. I don't remember the cinnamon flavor, but do remember the multicolored sugar and the story of the baby. What fun. Enjoy all the King Cakes of the season. Carol
The cinnamon flavor is usually overwhelmed by the sugar but I believe all King cakes have it.
It is all hype. King cakes used to be french bread with cinnamon baked in, colored sugars (Green, gold, purple) on the top. It was pretty nasty and dry. Now, the bakeries all outdo one another in making them more edible. We favor Mandeville Bake Shoppe's king cakes. A small one, which served mostly just 2 (Michael & Julia), was F$6.25. Michael got the baby on the first serving. And he still owes me for that king cake. He and Julia called me at work to bring one to them, stat. I rushed to beat the closing time on the 6th. There were only cream-cheese ones left in the small size. I priced them for shipping - $30-34, depending on filling.
IF YOU WANT A GREAT KING CAKE GET ONE FROM ANY OF THE RANDAZZO FAMILY BAKERIES. THEY ARE SO MOIST AND DELICIOUS, THEY MAKE THE REST TASTE LIKE CARDBOARD. But thats just the opinion of a native New Orleanian that's tried way too many King Cakes.
I know this could very easily degenerate into "whose king cake place is best" but I want to give a shout-out to Meche's Donut King in Lafayette - mmmmmmmm, tasty. In fact I'm about to preorder one for pickup, since this year we get to go back. Yay!