In college I had an awesome roomate from New Orleans who introduced me to Haydel's King's Cake. It was love at first sight and so my king cake love began. It blossomed during my time at the capitol as king cake's from Randazzos were frequent treats from eager lobbyist. I'm not sure if it's the sugary goodness I love or the hunt for the baby, but I love some king cake. I haven't seen to many in our neck of the woods but hopefully Freshmarket will start carrying them soon (a girl can still dream about Haydels and Randazzos, right?)History of King Cakes & Mardi Gras (from Haydens website)
The Mardi Gras season officially begins Jan. 6th or the "Twelfth Night" aka "Epiphany." Epiphany comes from the Greek word "to show." Jesus first showed himself to the Wise Men and to the world on this day. As a symbol of this Holy Day, a tiny plastic baby is placed inside each Kings Cake. The Kings Cake is an oval shaped cake (a cross between a coffee cake and french pastry) decorated in royal colors of purple (signifying justice,) green (signifying faith) and gold (signifying power). These colors signify the jeweled crown honoring the Wise Men who visited christ on Epiphany. In the past things as coins, pecan, beans and peas were also hidden in the cake. If you are the lucky recipient of the piece of cake with the baby, you are King for the day and bound by custom to host the next Mardi Gras party and provide the cake. Mardi Gras has a movable date and may occur on any Tuesday from February 3rd to March 9th. It's always the day before Ash Wednesday, and always falls 46 days before Easter.
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