Both the New Orleans-style King Cake and the French Galette des Roi are traditional for Epiphany, but the King Cake enjoys an encore on Mardi Gras. In either, the hidden object is called a fève, usually the figurine of a baby representing the Christ child or a bean as a stand-in. A crown is awarded to the person whose portion contains the fève.
Tiny porcelain “Frozen Charlotte” dolls became popular during the Victorian era and were often substituted for the babies in King Cakes, before making their way into Charlotte Russe, having its own heyday at the time. They shared a name but not a history as the dolls were the namesake of an underdressed poetic heroine who froze on her way to a ball.
Also from the British Isles, it was traditional for families to hide a sixpence coin in their Christmas puddings, conveying good luck to the person whose portion contained it.
On the other side of the Irish Sea, colcannon was linked to Samhain (aka Halloween aka harvest festival.) It was originally made with cabbage only; the Irish happily added potatoes when they became available. Eventually the cabbage was replaced or accompanied by kale. Various trinkets were embedded in the dish – coins for wealth or rags for poverty; a button meant a bachelor would stay that way, a thimble predicted a spinster, and a ring heralded a wedding. The same items might be baked into barmbrack too – another Halloween favorite in Ireland – portending similar outcomes.
