king cake

King Cake

Not yet ready to pull the plug on the holidays, then try baking a King Cake.

The practice of baking King Cakes during the holiday season is ancient. Romans baked a version for Saturnalia, held around the winter solstice. Later, the cake tradition was Christianized and baked for 12th night, the feast of the Epiphany when it is said the 3 kings visited the infant Jesus. In the US, the purple green and yellow sugared version is more often seen during Mardi Gras feasts.

Mardi Gras King Cake

The King Cake is a party cake and while each country in Europe has it's own variation and tradition on a familar theme, my favorite has a fruitcake or brioche base. As you bake each cake, a small porcelain toy (feve) is inserted in the dough. Whoever gets the slice of the cake with the toy is the King or Queen with all the rights, duties, obligations and appearances due a monarch.

If you're game try this recipe. I think you'll like it. Every bakery in Western Europe offers a commercial variety but the nanny state EU no longer allows commercial bakers to include the feve. Naturally, porcelain feves have become very collectible.

Les Feves

Toad

The Winter Monat

Saturnalia by Ernesto Biondi

December, the tenth month. Known by the Celts as The Winter Monat (month) the Danes as Yule or Christ Month. December's full moon is the cold night moon. It would make a great month for a celebration, something to break the gloom of the northern hemisphere.

The ancient Romans held the granddaddy of all December holidays, Saturnalia in honor of titan Saturn. Originally, a one day (December 17, 217 BC) pr stunt to get the minds of the populace off a catastrophic defeat of the Roman army by the Carthaginians, it caught on, became an annual affair, expanded to a week despite official attempts to shorten the holiday. Saturnalia was a time of celebration, gift giving, and visits to friends. Unconsciously, Saturnalia rituals continue to this day. The Boxing Day tradition of the master serving the servants has its roots in this ancient Roman feast.

Jesus was not likely born in December so why do we celebrate his nativity this month?

To grow, the Roman church had to overcome several obstacles. The new religion had to prove 1. that its god is stronger than the established god, and 2. ensure that newcomers aren't disadvantaged by becoming members. It would be bad salesmanship to ask Romans to join the new church and oh by the way we don't do that Saturnalia thing you look so forward to here. Something had to be created to compete with the old. Creative thinkers invented the Nativity to The Presentation (January 1) as a substitute. That's my theory.

Happy World AIDS day.

Toad