From Catholic ties to the three wise men to a modern-day Mardi Gras dessert, the vibrant purple, green and gold icing marking the Louisiana tradition of king cakes melts onto the cinnammon-stuffed dough, the state’s culture — and in student’s mouths. With Mardi Gras right around the corner, students can sample the festive dessert for free today from 10 a.m. until it runs out. The Student Union will continue its tradition of giving away king cake, the popular Louisiana pastry with a unique history. John Van Osdell, disaster science management senior, said when he moved outside the state, he turned to his mother to help satisfy his king-sized cravings.”When I was in the military, she would bake it and vacuum seal it and send the icing and the different-colored sugar sprinkles with it,” Van Osdell said. “I was in Georgia at the time, and all of my friends there had never heard of king cake before.”The modern king cake is believed to have originated in New Orleans, a transformation from its humble, flaky pastry French origins into the sweet Danish dough treat known today.Tracing back to the Middle Ages, king cake is thought to have Catholic origins, according to some king cake bakers. In some cultures, particularly Christian ones, devotion was placed on the three Wise Men, the kings who followed the North Star to find the infant Jesus. The Epiphany — the 12th night after the birth of Christ — marked the end of the Christmas celebration. That time became known for gift giving and consuming the celebratory cake of the three kings, in turn naming the dessert “king cake,” according to the local bakery Gambino’s tradition.King cakes have Catholic origins tied to the Epiphany, said Father Frank Bass, associate pastor of St. George’s Catholic Church in Baton Rouge. The Mardi Gras season starts on the Epiphany of every year and ends differently depending on the date of Fat Tuesday.”It began as a custom for Carnival season, which begins on Epiphany and ends the midnight of Fat Tuesday,” Bass said.Each color of the cake is symbolic — purple represents justice, green for faith and gold for power, said Haydel’s Bakery manager David Haydel Jr.Other bakers simply believe king cakes are part of the continuous partying that ends on Fat Tuesday. Because Mardi Gras is the day before Ash Wednesday, which starts the 40-day Catholic season of fasting known as Lent, many Louisianians indulge in guilty pleasures — like gorging on sweets — before the religious time of self-denial begins.Eating king cake is a group activity, said Gambino’s manager Angella St. Romain. Traditionally, whoever finds the baby in a slice of cake has to buy the next cake and host the next king cake party.During medieval times, a bead was placed in the king cakes but was replaced with the plastic baby to represent Jesus in modern king cakes, according to Gambino’s king cake maker Mitchell Lowery. Many local stores have opted not to put the baby inside of the king cake because of choking hazards, but Gambino’s and Ambrosia bakeries stand by the tradition.The baby hidden in the modern king cake symbolizes the Wise Men’s quest to find the infant Jesus, and the cake itself is oval-shaped to represent his crown, Ambrosia’s Bakery Manager Felix Sherman Jr. said.Although the traditional cinnamon king cake is still a crowd favorite, the modern change of adding fillings was well received, according to local bakers. Ambrosia’s, Baum’s, Cake Palace and Gambino’s all offer a variety of different fruit and specialty fillings.This year’s favorites at the local bakeries include the praline, pecan and cream cheese filled king cakes, said Baum’s Bakery owner Debbie Landry. The strawberry and cream cheese filled king cakes are also popular.Some bakeries, such as Baum’s, create a new king cake every year. This year’s creation is a banana’s foster king cake. Gambino’s added a specialty brownie king cake to their selection.With the large variety of king cake options available, the number of cakes produced is staggering. Gambino’s makes anywhere from 400 to 800 king cakes daily, depending on the number of orders, St. Romain said.Starting daily at 3 a.m., the Gambino’s production crew makes the dough for nearly three hours while the king cake crew waits for the dough to rise. The crew then produces the cakes in the afternoon.Other bakeries have a different approach, preparing the dough early to cut down the production time to 90 minutes.”We have about 12 to 15 people making king cakes at night,” said Ambrosia’s Bakery Manager David Sherman. “From start to finish, one king cake takes about an hour to make.”The king cake business expanded with the addition of shipping, according to these local bakers, all of whom who ship king cakes across the country.Haydel’s Bakery was the first bakery in the Big Easy to ship king cakes overnight, Haydel Jr. said. Because of international shipping, their king cake production has boomed, he said.”In a long year such as this one, we sell about 55,000 [king cakes] from Jan. 6 through Feb. 24, which includes shipped king cakes and those sold from the shop,” Haydel Jr. said.To offer out-of-state students a taste of Mardi Gras, the Student Union Marketing Committee will be giving out free slices of king cake. Chartwell’s — the catering service on campus — is providing enough king cake for 500 people.”We are doing this as a huge thank you for all that the students do for us,” said Union Marketing Committee Chair Sarah Latiolais.Meg Quinn, mass communication sophomore, has lived in Louisiana all of her life and said this year marked her first taste of king cake.”This year was my first to really eat it and enjoy it,” Quinn said. “My favorite is the cream cheese-filled. I could eat it by itself.”Additionally, the Global Studies Residential College will host “Carnivals From Around the World,” an event scheduled Wednesday to share with students the tradition of king cakes across the globe. Guest speakers will discuss the topics of Carnival in Cuba and rural Cajun parades. The event last year featured different types of king cakes, including a traditional king cake and a French one, according to this year’s event coordinator Nawsheen Golam Hossen.Caroline Hansen, kinesiology junior, said she grew up eating king cake, and her favorite is the cream cheese or the traditional king cake.”I love king cake,” Hansen said. “I grew up with it, and we’d have them in school.”—-Contact Alice Womble at [email protected]