The King of the Cakes: the King’s Cake
I hope you enjoyed your Christmas!
January arrives slowly but surely, and we all know what this means: New Year, good resolutions, skiing maybe for some of you, but don’t forget the most important: the King’s Cake!
“January’s most important thing is the King’s Cake? I’m not even sure what it is…”
Well, that is why I’m here!
What is a King’s Cake? Although there are many versions of it, the Parisian-style King’s Cake, the one our Young Bakers learn how to bake, looks like this:
It is basically made of several layers of puff pastry, and of frangipane. The result is a delicious cake that, all over the world, French, but also people from Quebec, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Lebanon and some others, are only having at one specific time of the year: January! It was traditionally to celebrate the Epiphany, on January 6th, when the three Wise Men (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, in case you forgot) paid a visit to Jesus. Although, for many, it simply became a warm time to spend with their family and friends, and they do not limit the King’s Cake’s period to January 6th only!
Now you know what it is, but what you might not know about the King’s Cake, is the tradition people would always follow when they’re about to eat one. Let’s imagine a family around the table. The dad holds the knife, ready to cut some slices. Then the youngest child sits down under the table. The dad cuts the first slice and asks: “For whom is the first one?…”
And the kid answers, “For Mummy!”, or anyone else around the table, as he wishes. Slice after slice, he decides to whom the slice will go, until everyone is served.
What I haven’t told you yet, is that somewhere inside the cake, is hidden a small figurine, called fève. And if you find it, you become “the King” or “the Queen”! (And, like any good king or queen, you get a crown!).
This may sound strange, but that is the tradition! And there’s more.
“Where does all this come from?”, might you be asking. Well, it seems like the first evidences go back to Roman Antiquity. Every year were celebrated the Saturnalia, in honour of the god Saturn (or Cronos in Greek mythology).
When Saturn was dethroned and ousted from his son Jupiter (Zeus), Janus, two-face god of ends and beginnings, doors and choices, welcomed him. For him, Janus organized the Saturnalia, each year in January (Janus actually gave his name to the month Januarius, January).
During this festival, which usually lasted several days, the servants became masters, and vice-versa! What’s more, in each family, people would randomly pick a servant, who would then become the Prince of Saturnalia for the day. He would be “king for a day”, and would be obeyed by everyone. Same as nowadays, he was chosen thanks to a fève (at that time, it was a simple broad bean) placed inside a cake! And at that time already, the youngest of the family was chosen to sit down under the table and decide who would eat which slice of the cake.
Since the beginning of this article, we are talking about the King’s Cake, but what if……
What if you could learn how to make one?
Yes, seriously! Instead of buying a frozen one in a supermarket, you could come to our baking class on January 19th:
Time：January 19th
Location：SYB Baking Centre
Price：600 RMB (lunch included); there is a 100 RMB discount if more than 10 people or more register!
Requirement：open to everyone from 8 to 88 years old; no experience required
Thanks to our Teacher Liu Dong and his professionalism taught at SYB, the Shanghai Marriott Hotel Pudong East and the French Bakery and Pastry School of Aurillac, you will learn the best recipe in the best conditions!
Places are limited and we might be full soon, so contact us before it is too late!
