king's cake

Noun

king cake (countable and uncountable, plural king cakes)

1. (Louisiana) A decorative cake distributed among friends or visitors on Epiphany. In many traditions it contains a pea, a trinket or some other small object which entitles its finder to be the "king" for one day.
   • A pretty superstition was also connected with the King's Cake. The lucky finder of the pecan, or bean, or ring, which was hidden within was henceforth to be favored by fortune. The queen cut the bean in two, and gave half of it to her king, and so, if a gentleman found it. The lucky bean was...1901, “Twelfth Night or King's Cake. Gateau du Roi.”, in The Picayune's Creole Cook Book, 2nd edition, New Orleans, La.: The Picayune, →OCLC, pages 314–315

   Synonyms:

   baby cake, epiphany cake, three kings' cake, twelfth cake, twelfth-day cake