King cake
The Epiphany Cake (English King Cake or King 's Cake, French Galette des Rois, Spanish Roscón de Reyes ) is a traditional Festive baking, the 6th of January, the day of the Epiphany ( Epiphany ), the feast of the Three Kings is baked. The old custom of the bean king was revived in the 1950s and is very common today, especially in Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, England and Spain.
Regionally, the recipes are very different, but common to all Epiphany cake that a dried bean, an almond, a coin or other small object is baked. Anyone come across this good luck charm while eating for a day king of the family.
In Switzerland
In Switzerland, the Epiphany cake from sweet yeast dough is prepared which is formed into balls, arranged flower shape and sprinkled with flaked almonds and pearl sugar. Most Swiss no longer even bake her Epiphany cake, but buy it together with golden paper crown to be placed in the supermarket or at the bakery. In these industrially manufactured Epiphany cake a little king is baked plastic.
When Epiphany cake is not about by a marginal practice, but one of the most successful current practices with a total Swiss distribution and a fixed date during the year. The custom is present even from France, Belgium and some regions of Spain known, but it show the sales figures, the specific relevance of this phenomenon for Switzerland. But the Iowa AG, the bakery wholesale distributor Migros, produced in 2000, more than 500,000 Epiphany cake at the Swiss Food Coop cooperative about 250,000 cakes were produced. Pistor as a supplier for commercial bakeries in Switzerland, which provides, inter alia, the king - plastic figures, indicating the production quantity for the bakeries with " several hundred thousand ". On the enormous success and the widespread interpret the sales figures of the king figurine out: 2004 have been delivered to half a million plastic kings to the commercial bakeries, the Migros and Coop have separate figurines suppliers. Overall, would be allowed to sell 1.5 million annually to Epiphany Cake currently in Switzerland, where the trend is still clearly rising. This translates into roughly one cake per Swiss household - a distribution that is more than any other custom in Switzerland.
In Spain
The Roscón de Reyes ( "King crown " ) is a traditional wreath cake made of yeast dough that is baked in Spain only for the Feast of the Three Kings on January 6. It is available without filling, with whipped cream or with truffle filling.
Hidden inside each is a porcelain figurine and a bean, which must never be eaten. The tradition says that the person who finds the bean in his piece of cake, the cake has to pay for all guests. On the other hand, is the one who has the good fortune to find the little porcelain figure, crowned with all the "King ". The wreath cake is decorated with candied fruits such as orange slices, red and green cherries, etc.
In Catalonia we know the same customs and a very similar cake as Tortell de Reis ( "King cake "). It is filled with marzipan, among other things, Cabello de ángel or whipped cream.
In Mexico
The tradition of Rosca de Reyes ( "King wreath " ) was introduced in Mexico in the 16th century by Spain. The cake is baked from dough and usually without charge, only for the Feast of the Three Kings on January 6. The wreath cake is decorated with candied desert fruits such as dates and figs, etc.
Hidden therein are each, at the election, several porcelain or ceramic figurines. The tradition says that the person who finds a porcelain child, make a follow-up to the festival and also bake tamales for all guests needs. The solid is then celebrated on February 2nd, and is called Fiesta de la Candelaria.
In Portugal
In Portugal ( and Brazil ) the Epiphany cake as Bolo Rei is known.
In France
In France, there are two types of cake. In the north of France serves traditional food the Galette des Rois, often with a marzipan filling. In the south, the Couronne or the Gâteau des Rois, similar to the Catalan Tortell. As in Spain, in each cake a porcelain figurine is hidden.