A Mardi Gras party just wouldn't be a Mardi Gras party without one of our delicious
King Cakes (or Kings Cakes as they are sometimes
known).
Visit our New Orleans King Cake Page to see our
popular King Cake selections, then check out our Mardi Gras Party Ideas Page for Mardi Gras beads, doubloons,
Pat O'Brien's Hurricane mixes, Pralines, Zapp's Louisiana Chips by the case, and lots more great Mardi Gras party items.
An observer once said that in New Orleans
people are either having a party, recuperating from
a party, or planning a party. The biggest and best party of all and the city's most famous
celebration is Mardi Gras, "the greatest free show on earth". Mardi Gras dates
back to 1837 when the first street parade took place.
The Mardi Gras Carnival season begins January 6th (12 days after Christmas) on Twelfth Night with
the first of nearly one hundred private masked balls. The dazzling Mardi Gras parades
feature marching bands and elaborate paper mache floats with maskers tossing trinkets,
beads and doubloons to the crowds.
On Mardi Gras Day, the day before Ash Wednesday, the largest and
longest parades are held. Rex, King of Carnival, is a prominent
businessman. His
Queen is a debutante of the current season. On Mardi Gras Day, everyone joins in
the costuming, young and old alike, resident and tourist.
In European countries, the coming of the wise men bearing gifts to the Christ Child is
celebrated twelve days after Christmas. The celebration, called Epiphany, Little Christmas
on the Twelfth Night, is a time of exchanging gifts and feasting. All over the world
people gather for festive Twelfth Night celebrations. One of the most popular customs is
still the baking of a special cake in honor of the three kings..."A King's
Cake". Tradition has now evolved through time to obligate the person who receives the
doll (inside every King Cake) to continue the festivities by hosting another king cake
party.
King Cakes (or Kings Cakes), were originally a simple ring of dough with little decoration. But now they
are available with a variety of fillings and attractive decorations.
Our King Cakes are made by Gambino's, the region's foremost bakery. Gambino's has
developed it's own special recipe as a signature item to become "The King of King
Cakes".
The King Cake is made with a rich Danish dough, baked and covered with a poured sugar
topping and decorated with the traditional Mardi Gras-colored sugars. The end result is a
delicious and festive cake in traditional Rex colors: Purple, representing Justice; Green
representing Faith; Gold representing Power. Hundreds of thousands of King Cakes are
consumed at parties every year, making the King Cake another fine Louisiana tradition. |
