Baking King Cake / myLot

Switzerland

January 4, 2016 9:56am CST

After tomorrow is the Epiphany, or "Three King's Day". Living in France many years, I got the habit to bake the "galette des rois" (king cake) to celebrate this day. In France, there are two kind of cakes, the frangipane-filled puff pastry and the brioche crown, this last is the same served here in Switzerland. It is part of the tradition to put a small figurine in the cake, that in the past it was a bean. The person who finds this figurine inside their slice of cake is "king for a day". I am posting a photo of the two different kind of cakes. My favorite is the frangipane and it's the one that is now baking in the oven. Do you celebrate the Epiphany Day?

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51 responses

Koalemos

@Asylum (47893)

• Manchester, England

4 Jan 16

With my luck I would probably end up eating the bean instead.

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Koalemos

@Asylum (47893)

• Manchester, England

4 Jan 16

@LadyDuck So everyone is likely to become quite frustrated bean hunters. We had a similar tradition here in England when I was a child, which involved baking a silver 3d coin into the Christmas pudding.

3 people like this

Koalemos

@Asylum (47893)

• Manchester, England

5 Jan 16

@ivyparkgirl What would happen to the person who ended up biting his head off?

Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

4 Jan 16

I do not put the bean inside, in my opinion this is a dangerous habit.

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Jabo

@jaboUK (64354)

• United Kingdom

4 Jan 16

No, the day is nothing special in England. Those cakes look lovely, and that tradition sounds a bit like when we used to put a sixpence in Xmas puddings.

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Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

4 Jan 16

It's not very different from the sixpence tradition. Epiphany in Italy and Switzerland is always celebrated on the 6th of January, that is also the 12th day of Christmas. In France, to spare one holiday, they celebrate on the Sunday closest to the 6th.

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Arthur Chappell

@arthurchappell (44998)

• Preston, England

5 Jan 16

it is just treated as an ordinary day here - love the cake images

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Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

5 Jan 16

Not all the European countries celebrate this day, France celebrates on Sunday.

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seren3

@seren3 (387)

• Los Angeles, California

7 Jan 16

@arthurchappell Thanks you've updated me on that!

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Jekca

@Jessicalynnt (50523)

• Centralia, Missouri

4 Jan 16

these sound like fun traditions, reminds me of that odd purple cake baked near mardi gras

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Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

4 Jan 16

Near Mardi Gras we have "fat" sweets, everything is fried for Carnival.

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Jekca

@Jessicalynnt (50523)

• Centralia, Missouri

5 Jan 16

@ivyparkgirl I knew there was something with a mardi gras cake, just never been so I wasn't sure exactly

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ElizabethWallace

@ElizabethWallace (12074)

• United States

4 Jan 16

Nope. That tradition did not make it over to this side of the pond. Odd, since most of the other holiday traditions did, especially the German ones. But that is to be expected, since there were so many German settlers early on in our history.

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Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

4 Jan 16

I am pretty sure that the King Cake is not a German tradition. It is a popular cake in other European countries, like Belgium, France, Switzerland and Portugal. We do not have this tradition in Italy.

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ElizabethWallace

@ElizabethWallace (12074)

• United States

5 Jan 16

@LadyDuck I think they do something similar in Mexico. I would be worried about someone choking.

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Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

5 Jan 16

@ElizabethWallace I think to remember they do something similar in Mexico. The first time I had this cake in France I almost break a tooth, we do not have this tradition in Italy (we eat another cake, with no bean). In my home baked cake I put nothing.

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katrine

@carexing25 (1822)

• Philippines

5 Jan 16

here we go to church and go home with simple dinner but i wish i could bake something like that..

i love baking

3 people like this

Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

5 Jan 16

This is the last celebration of the Christmas traditions, so it's pretty important here.

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Shivani

@Manisingh81 (2)

• India

5 Jan 16

I wish such festivals could could be a part of India too...apart from all those cultural festivals ??

2 people like this

Pat Z Anthony

@PatZAnthony (14749)

• Charlotte, North Carolina

7 Jan 16

Not everyone here celebrates this.

3 people like this

Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

7 Jan 16

I know that in the United States you do not celebrate Epiphany, but in most European countries we do.

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Marlina

@marlina (154130)

• Canada

4 Jan 16

Being raised in a Catholic household, yes we did celebrate the Epiphany Day. But I do not practice anymore and do not bake the cake now.

3 people like this

epiphany day

Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

4 Jan 16

It is a holiday here in the south, this year I thought to bring back the tradition and after the Epiphany all cakes and sweets are going to be banned until the end of February.

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Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

5 Jan 16

@ivyparkgirl You are Catholic, but the United States do not celebrate all the Catholic holidays.

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AbbyGreenhill

@AbbyGreenhill (45494)

• United States

4 Jan 16

In Louisiana they have a King Cake but that's for lent (before lent starts I guess). The cake is totally different from yours. It's a round with hole in the middle, and it is corloful (purple, gold, green). It's actually fairly tasteless. I had a few when I was a kid and someone mailed me one a few years ago. There is a baby doll (tiny) inside and whoever gets the doll has to provide the next cake.

2 people like this

Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

4 Jan 16

I have seen photos of the Louisiana King Cake, I have never tried it. In France they put small ceramic figurine in the cakes, people are very careful when they eat. The first time I ate a slice I did not know about this habit, I almost broke a tooth.

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AbbyGreenhill

@AbbyGreenhill (45494)

• United States

4 Jan 16

@LadyDuck I could see where that is dangerous. They put a small plastic doll in the cakes.

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AbbyGreenhill

@AbbyGreenhill (45494)

• United States

5 Jan 16

@ivyparkgirl I am only familiar with the LA tradition.

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amnabas

@amnabas (14721)

• Karachi, Pakistan

4 Jan 16

Wow it looks yummy I would love to taste them.

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Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

4 Jan 16

They are both good, but my favorite is the one with the almond and sugar filling.

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seren3

@seren3 (387)

• Los Angeles, California

7 Jan 16

I do a quiet celebration - in that I leave my Christmas cards and decorations up till January 6th, and then I take them down with contemplation and appreciation of the season. No cake for me anymore lol.

2 people like this

Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

7 Jan 16

I have taken down all the decorations this morning. I like to keep them until the end of the festivities.

The Horse

@TheHorse (220642)

• Walnut Creek, California

4 Jan 16

No, I hadn't heard of it. I bet kids enjoy being "King for a day." what privileges do they get? Can they tell mom to do the dishes?

2 people like this

Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

4 Jan 16

The traditions comes from the "Saturnales" of ancient Romans, they designated a slave as "king for a day" and on that day he was treated like a king. The kids usually wear a paper crown for the day, but they do not have special "rights".

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The Horse

@TheHorse (220642)

• Walnut Creek, California

4 Jan 16

@LadyDuck Heh heh. I would have pouted and demanded that they buy me a baseball or something. I don't think I would have beheaded them if they refused, though. They were pretty nice to me.

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The Horse

@TheHorse (220642)

• Walnut Creek, California

5 Jan 16

@ivyparkgirl I like the King for a Day idea better!

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Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (317454)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

4 Jan 16

I've never done so. Both cakes look good.

2 people like this

Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

4 Jan 16

I like both, even if I have a preference for the puff pastry with the frangipane filling.

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Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

5 Jan 16

@just4him They are standard traditional recipes, that I found in cooking books.

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Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (317454)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

4 Jan 16

@LadyDuck Do you have your own recipe for them or is it a standard traditional recipe?

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paigea

@paigea (36315)

• Canada

4 Jan 16

No, but my mom always left the tree up until then and so do I. Many of our friends were Ukrainian and they always called it Ukrainian Christmas. I always called it Ukrainian Christmas too and only recently heard of the Epiphany.

2 people like this

Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

4 Jan 16

The Russian Christmas is the 7th of January. I always keep the decoration until the Epiphany day.

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Oshy

@TiarasOceanView (70022)

• United States

4 Jan 16

We do not celebrate it and this is the first i heard of it Anna. The cake will be divine I am sure when it comes out of your oven. Is there something a surprise in it for you two to find? haha Who will be King for the Day?

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Oshy

@TiarasOceanView (70022)

• United States

4 Jan 16

@LadyDuck Yes we need our teeth Anna haha

Well it is fine you can both be King and Queen for the day anyways..

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Oshy

@TiarasOceanView (70022)

• United States

5 Jan 16

@ivyparkgirl It sounds a good cake tho huh Kelly.

Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

4 Jan 16

I have put nothing in the cake, I prefer to be safe and not to risk to break a tooth.

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Belle Starr (Iz)

@BelleStarr (61101)

• United States

6 Jan 16

No I am afraid I don't. It is not a tradition we have in my family.

2 people like this

Marie

@Tampa_girl7 (50716)

• United States

4 Jan 16

I am familiar with this , but do not celebrate it. I bet the cake is divinel

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Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

5 Jan 16

I know that Epiphany is not celebrated in the United States. I have to believe that in ancient times it was celebrated in United Kingdom, because of the song "The 12 days of Christmas", in fact Epiphany it's the 12th day after Christmas.

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Anna

@LadyDuck (472222)

• Switzerland

7 Jan 16

@seren3 I have heard for several myLotters that the Church celebrated in their countries even if it's not an official holiday.

seren3

@seren3 (387)

• Los Angeles, California

7 Jan 16

@LadyDuck I'm pretty sure many still acknowledge it in the UK. I grerw up in Canada and definitely church-goers still did. There was a communion service in the AM and evening if it fell on a week day - Anglican, not Catholic. I'm sure they had a mass on that day.

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