Today, the practice of a plastic baby baked inside the King Cake still exists, and the tradition is whoever receives the baby in their piece of cake must buy the next King Cake or throw the next party. King Cakes are made of a cinnamon filled dough in the shape of a hollow circle. The cake is topped with a delicious glazed topping and then sprinkled with colored sugar. The royal colors of purple, green and gold on the cake honors the three kings who visited the Christ child on Epiphany. Purple represents Justice. Green stands for Faith. Gold signifies Power.
The three colors appeared in 1872 on a Krewe of Rex carnival flag especially designed for the visiting Grand Duke of Russia. He came to New Orleans just for the carnival, and the universal colors remain his legacy.
Today the King Cakes are baked with a wide assortment of fillings inside the cake. King Cake is the preferred dessert and snack in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.
Epiphany, celebrated in European countries, marks the coming of the wise men that brought gifts to the Christ Child. Epiphany is also called Little Christmas on the Twelfth Night, and is celebrated twelve nights after Christmas. People from the entire world celebrate Epiphany by exchanging gifts and feasting. Legends has it that the King Cake is believed to have been brought to New Orleans, Louisiana, from France in the 1870's. It evolved from the Twelfth Night or Epiphany pastry made by those early settlers. They added their own touches with the Spanish custom of choosing Twelfth Night royalty.
A King Cake is shaped like a crown to represent the kings. A dried bean or pea was hidden inside the cake and whoever found it received a year of good luck and was treated as royalty for that day.