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Subject: British King Cake
From: Virginia
Date: 12/10/2018, 11:27 AM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
On 12/10/2018 1:54 AM, Virginia wrote:
Dear Uncle,
At an Episcopal Church last year I had a slice of “Traditional King Cake.” It was not
the purple and green cake so popular for Mardi Gras. Instead it appeared to be made
with puff paste and it had an almond filling. I have searched and searched for a recipe
with no luck. Can you help me?
Virginia
Hi Virginia,
I'm going to speculate that you thought what you ate was a British cake because you were at an
Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Church is the Americanized version of the British Anglican
Church.
I don't think that is the case. You see there are two kinds of "King Cake," and both have a
French connection. The "King Cake" that most of us are familiar with is the New Orleans version
served at Mardi Gras with a tiny doll inside. The Basques brought this type of cake to Louisiana.
I have a recipe posted here: 12-05-08
The English did have a tradition of a sort of "King Cake" in the past, more often called a
"Twelfth Night Cake," that was popular in the United Kingdom on Twelfth Night. However, it's a
batter cake, not made with puff pastry.
The "King Cake" that I think you had was a traditional French King Cake or “Galette des rois,” made
with puff pastry and almond filling, which is served in France at the Feast of Epiphany. There are
recipes for the traditional French type of King Cake on these sites:
Galette des Rois
Almond Galette
All of these cakes have a trinket or a bean cooked into them, and some type of "King Cake" is
popular in many different countries, with names local to those countries. There is a good article
about the different kinds of "King Cake" on Wikipedia at: King Cake
Phaed
You are always amazing, Dear Uncle. Thank you so much for your help over the years.
Stay warm, and have a jolly winter. Virginia
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