Dictionary

king cake en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /kɪŋ keɪk/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Probably a calque of French galette des rois (literally “galette of the kings”), meaning the three Magi who visited the baby Jesus at Epiphany.

Meanings

1. (Louisiana, countable, uncountable) A decorative cake distributed among friends or visitors on Epiphany. In many traditions it contains a pea, a trinket or some other small object which entitles its finder to be the "king" for one day.
   • Local custom dictates that Carnival has its official beginning when a debutante at her “coming out” ball finds a golden bean in her slice of king cake at the Twelfth Night Revelers’ Ball. 2006, Louise McKinney, New Orleans: A Cultural History, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 222:
   • A pretty superstition was also connected with the King's Cake. The lucky finder of the pecan, or bean, or ring, which was hidden within was henceforth to be favored by fortune. The queen cut the bean in two, and gave half of it to her king, and so, if a gentleman found it. The lucky bean was faithfully preserved as a talisman, and in many an old Creole family to-day there is carefully preserved a little shriveled amulet which was found in the Gateau du Roi on Twelfth Night. 1901, “Twelfth Night or King's Cake. Gateau du Roi.”, in The Picayune's Creole Cook Book, 2nd edition, New Orleans, La.: The Picayune, →OCLC, pages 314–315:
   • King cakes, rich briochelike delicacies, make their appearance on 6 January, or Twelfth Night, and herald the beginning of the Carnival season in New Orleans. 2007, Susan Tucker, “King Cakes”, in John T. Edge, editor, Foodways (The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture; 7), Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 190:
   • Finally, as Mardi Gras draws to a close, the parade-weary, traffic-stressed, kingcake-bloated population of New Orleans is relieved to welcome the onset of the next season—Lent. 2011, Yvonne Spear Perret, “Season According to Taste”, in Yat Wit: Chicken Gumbo for the New Orleans Soul, Gretna, New Orleans, La.: Pelican Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 69:
   • And this year, just outside New Orleans, a tire shop that for as long as anyone can remember sold only car parts has become a bustling marketplace offering king cakes, the delicacy of the Carnival season, in just about any conceivable flavor. 2024 February 12, Rick Rojas, “Outside New Orleans, a New Mardi Gras Experience: The King Cake Drive-Thru”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • People eat king cake for Mardi Gras. A king cake is filled with cinnamon, fruit, or cream cheese. A small toy baby is placed inside the cake. It symbolizes the baby Jesus, from Christianity. One person gets the piece of cake with the baby. He or she buys the next king cake or throws the next party. 2014, Julie Murray, “King Cake”, in Mardi Gras (A Buddy Book), Minneapolis, Minn.: ABDO Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 18:
   • In New Orleans, Twelfth Night is the beginning of the Mardi Gras season. The New Orleans Twelfth Night Cake or King Cake, as it is usually called today, is a traditional sweet yeast bread served on Twelfth Night and during the Mardi Gras season. The New Orleans King Cake is shaped to form a crown, and it is decorated with the traditional Mardi Gras colors using gold, purple, and green sugar. A bean or a small china doll was traditionally baked in the cake, but today a small plastic baby is usually hidden in the cake instead. 2003, Marcia [G.] Gaudet, “The New Orleans King Cake in Southwest Louisiana”, in Marcia Gaudet, James C. McDonald, editors, Mardi Gras, Gumbo, and Zydeco: Readings in Louisiana Culture, Jackson, Miss.: University Press of Mississippi, →ISBN, page 48:

Forms

Coordinates

queen cake · princess cake

Synonyms

epiphany cake · baby cake · Twelfth cake · twelfth-day cake · three kings' cake · twelfth cake

Translations (27)

fi loppiaiskakku (cake eaten on Epiphany) · eo reĝoflano (cake eaten on Epiphany) · nl driekoningentaart (cake eaten on Epiphany) · el βασιλόπιτα (cake eaten on Epiphany) · cmn 帝王蛋糕 (cake eaten on Epiphany) · ca tortell (cake eaten on Epiphany) · ar كَعْكَة عِيد الغَطَّاس (cake eaten on Epiphany) · oc corona dels Reis (cake eaten on Epiphany) · it galette des rois (cake eaten on Epiphany) · oc reiaume (cake eaten on Epiphany) · de Dreikönigskuchen (cake eaten on Epiphany) · es roscón de Reyes (cake eaten on Epiphany) · pt bolo-rei (cake eaten on Epiphany) · ru пиро́г волхво́в (cake eaten on Epiphany) · pl ciasto Trzech Króli (cake eaten on Epiphany) · ca tortell de Reis (cake eaten on Epiphany) · fr galette des rois (cake eaten on Epiphany) · fa کیک پادشاه (cake eaten on Epiphany) · ja ガレット・デ・ロワ (cake eaten on Epiphany) · fr couronne des rois (cake eaten on Epiphany) · da helligtrekongerskage (cake eaten on Epiphany) · es rosca de Reyes (cake eaten on Epiphany) · nl koningentaart (cake eaten on Epiphany) · fr gâteau des rois (cake eaten on Epiphany) · vi bánh vua (cake eaten on Epiphany) · eu errege-opil (cake eaten on Epiphany) · sv kungskaka (cake eaten on Epiphany)