king cake

noun

plural king cakes

: a sweet ring-shaped cake traditionally with a symbolic bean or figurine of the infant Jesus inside that is served from the Epiphany to Shrove Tuesday

Of course, no one does king cake quite like New Orleans. It's decorated in the colors of Mardi Gras—purple (to represent justice), green (faith) and gold (power)—as chosen by one of the city's first Mardi Gras organizations, or krewes. A token or trinket—usually a plastic baby symbolizing the infant Jesus—is hidden inside. Whoever finds the baby may be crowned king or queen of the party; more important, that person is responsible for bringing the cake to the next gathering.

—Noelle Carter

Examples of king cake in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ana also compiled this list of where to find a king cake in Austin. —Deborah Sengupta Stith, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025

Foods traditionally eaten on Fat Tuesday include: jambalaya king cake paczki pancakes What is paczki? —Chris Sims, IndyStar, 12 Apr. 2025

Mardi Gras will conclude weeks of partying, parades and eating lots and lots of king cake. —Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2025

Festivities across the city include elaborate parades, eating king cake and sharing bead necklaces with gold, green and purple. Rio de Janeiro's famed Carnival celebration begins Feb. 28 and extends until March 8. —Mariyam Muhammad, Cincinnati Enquirer, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1741, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for king cake

• awake
• backache
• beefsteak
• betake
• cheesecake
• cupcake
• daybreak
• earthquake
• eastlake
• forsake
• handshake
• headache