King cakes date back to 12th century France when a cake was baked on the eve of Jan.  6 with a small token hidden inside. Whoever got the token in his or her slice became  the royalty of the night. The original French cakes, known as the galette des rois, were  round, reflecting the route taken by the Magi to confuse King Herod whose army was  following the Wise Men.

 The Louisiana king cake tradition differs from France in that king cakes are served and  enjoyed throughout the Carnival season, from Jan. 6 to Feb. 17 this year. Most  Louisiana king cakes are oval and decorated in the Carnival colors of purple, green and  gold, which represent justice (purple), faith (green) and power (gold). Some are plain  with only decorated sugar on top while others are filled with wonderful things like  cream cheese, fruit preserves and praline filing.



 Poupart's bakery, started by French native Francois Poupart who immigrated to  Louisiana in the early 1960s, serves up a traditional French-style king cake in addition  to the Louisiana variety. Their "French king cake" consists of two layers of puff pastry  with an almond marzipan cream filling, much like its French cousin.



 Keller's Bakery began making king cakes in the 1970s, utilizing Danish dough topped  with the colors of Mardi Gras and filled with delicious goodness. Today, they offer  than  a dozen flavors and introduce new ones each year. During the Carnival season, Keller's  may produce 300 to 400 king cakes a day. Last year, the downtown and Youngsville  bakery created about 15,000 king cakes!



 Some Lafayette bakeries and restaurants like to serve up innovative creations such as  king cupcakes at Sophi P. Cakes - A Sophisticated Punk Cakery. Owner and Executive  Chef Jennifer Zerangue Melancon swirls a yellow and cinnamon cake before baking,  then tops the cupcakes with cream cheese icing in traditional Mardi Gras colors. She  and her husband, Dustin, sell plain king cupcakes, which means they are filled with  only cream cheese, but also ones filled in a variety of flavors such as blueberry,  strawberry, apple and Bavarian cream.



 Lafayette's culinary scene can be inventive so don't be surprised to find king cake  bread pudding on a menu and other variations on the Carnival tradition. There's even  king cake martinis at Café Vermilionville!