I had read about this cake and its tradition from a few Americans, and always wanted to try it. So when Nico and I saw one in Monoprix, he said, "Ah! I will be right back and find one." And he dashed out of the store for a few minutes (off to the boulangerie) and returned with a little galette for us to share for dessert.
The tradition holds that a little figurine be baked into the cake, usually a baby Jesus but there can also be animals or other creatures, and whomever gets the piece containing the figurine gets to be king for a day and choose his queen (or vice versa for the ladies). It was pretty obvious we'd both be royalty in our apartment.
The tradition also says that the cake (sort of like a fluffy almond pastry, absolutely delish) is served among the guests of the house and leaves one piece for the next poor person to approach the home. We just cut ours in half.
Nico saw his fate as King as soon as he picked up his half.
As luck would have it, I got to be queen.
My first experience with the King's cake came when I was teaching and a parent brought in to the classroom the King's cake for Easter. She was from New Orleans (thus the French connection) and said that was their custom on that holiday. There I was, in a public school, fearing that some child would find Baby Jesus. Oh my! Enjoying the posts. Marsha
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