Saturnalia cake3/16/2023 ![]() ![]() When Saturn was dethroned and ousted from his son Jupiter (Zeus), Janus, two-face god of ends and beginnings, doors and choices, welcomed him. ![]() Every year were celebrated the Saturnalia, in honour of the god Saturn (or Cronos in Greek mythology). Well, it seems like the first evidences go back to Roman Antiquity. “Where does all this come from?”, might you be asking. This may sound strange, but that is the tradition! And there’s more. And if you find it, you become “the King” or “the Queen”! (And, like any good king or queen, you get a crown!). What I haven’t told you yet, is that somewhere inside the cake, is hidden a small figurine, called fève. Slice after slice, he decides to whom the slice will go, until everyone is served. The dad cuts the first slice and asks: “For whom is the first one?…” And the kid answers, “For Mummy!”, or anyone else around the table, as he wishes. Then the youngest child sits down under the table. The dad holds the knife, ready to cut some slices. Now you know what it is, but what you might not know about the King’s Cake, is the tradition people would always follow when they’re about to eat one. Although, for many, it simply became a warm time to spend with their family and friends, and they do not limit the King’s Cake’s period to January 6th only! The result is a delicious cake that, all over the world, French, but also people from Quebec, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Lebanon and some others, are only having at one specific time of the year: January! It was traditionally to celebrate the Epiphany, on January 6th, when the three Wise Men (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, in case you forgot) paid a visit to Jesus. It is basically made of several layers of puff pastry, and of frangipane. The King of the Cakes: the King’s Cake I hope you enjoyed your Christmas! January arrives slowly but surely, and we all know what this means: New Year, good resolutions, skiing maybe for some of you, but don’t forget the most important: the King’s Cake! “January’s most important thing is the King’s Cake? I’m not even sure what it is…” Well, that is why I’m here! What is a King’s Cake? Although there are many versions of it, the Parisian-style King’s Cake, the one our Young Bakers learn how to bake, looks like this: ![]()
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