Galette des Rois: King’s Cake

The tradition has continued until today and still remains a popular tradition in France.  The cake is cut into the number of people present plus one.  The tradition is that the extra slice was given to the first poor passer-by.  As in Roman times, the youngest person is supposed to sit under the table and say who gets which slice to ensure the fair distribution of the slices of cake. Originally the lucky charm was a bean, nowadays it is a porcelain or a plastic trinket.  The person who receives the slice of cake with the lucky charm in becomes the ‘king’ or ‘queen’ and boulangeries sell the cake with a golden cardboard crown for the king/queen to wear.

The important tradition remains the sharing of a moment and eating something tasty with friends and family.  The traditional Kings Cake is made of puff pastry and a frangipane centre.  Other variants now exist in other areas of France.