by Tiana Kennell

Eaters, beware. The next bite of King Cake could cost you.

It’s officially Mardi Gras season, marked by Epiphany on Jan. 6. It also marked the time when bakeries began selling the seasonal King Cake.

For those not familiar with King Cakes or Mardi Gras culture, know chances are high that there’s a little surprise hidden within that sweet doughy goodness — a naked plastic baby.

What is this baby doing in there and what does it mean if you receive the slice with it in there?

The Shreveport Times asked local residents what they think it’s all about and the answers varied.

Some take finding the baby in a literal sense.

“If you find the baby in the King Cake that means you’re the next one to pop out a baby,” Hannah Pierce said.

Some believe it means coming out of pocket for the party.

“From what I understand, the baby in the King Cake means you have to provide the next King Cake,” Michael Billings said. “I avoid it because I don’t want to bring the next King Cake.”

Then there are the hopeful ones who see the baby as a good luck charm.

“I think what it means to get the baby in the King Cake is that you’ll have good luck for the rest of the year,” Cassidy Farmer said. “I always want to be the one to find it because I want to be lucky.”

Lisa Tike, co-owner of Lilah’s Bakery, is expected to whip up a copious amount of King Cakes between Epiphany (Jan. 6) and Mardi Gras (Feb. 13). Each year, she asks customers what they believe is the meaning of the baby inside and the answers are always split, she said.

“Originally, when it was a bean or a token inside the cake, it was that you were king for the day or you had good luck for the year then eventually somebody decided you should buy the next King Cake,” Tike said. “Of course, I say if you buy the next King Cake from us you do have good luck.”

Though the custom has evolved over the years, legend has it that the person who receives the baby is expected to host the next King Cake party during Mardi Gras, according to Lilah’s website.

King Cakes are said to have come into play in the 12th Century in France as a celebration of the Three Wise Men who traveled to the “Christ Child” bearing gifts. The cakes are traditionally circular to represent the route the trio took to elude King Herod who wanted to have Christ killed.

It wasn’t always a baby in the cake, however, some used beans, coins, tokens or even jeweled rings. The babies are said to have come into the mix later and were porcelain and baked into the dessert. Now, they commonly are plastic and placed outside of the cake for the server to tuck into it before serving guests.

But this way, some people may attempt to take fate into their own hands by making sure the person who gets the baby is who they want it to be, Tike said.

“We get a lot of military guys in here and they got stuck having to buy the King Cake because they found the baby,” Tike said. “They like when we don’t put the baby in for you. We give them a little hint when they hide the baby to remember where they’ve hidden it, then strategically give it to the next guy. Usually, it’s the new guy on base who gets the baby.”

King Cakes are available in a variety of flavors and available many bakeries and stores across Louisiana.

If you go

What: Lilah’s Bakery
Where: 1718 Centenary Blvd, Shreveport
Hours: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tues. – Sat.
Info: (318) 676-1407 or lilahsdeli.com
If interested in learning how to bake King Cakes, Lilah’s hosts King Cake Making Parties, visit lilahsdeli.com/kingcakeparties/.

Read more: https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/entertainment/2018/01/09/you-found-baby-king-cake-now-what/1018011001/