Bakkerij De Weerdt
Three Kings’ Cake with gold coin instead of bean!
Tomorrow is
the Twelfth Day of Christmas, a day when there will be large queues outside
Flemish bakeries, as people set out to put a Bakewell or frangipane tart on the
table to celebrate the feast of Epiphany, when Christians mark the revelation
of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ and the visit the three Wise
Men paid to the Christ Child.
But this is no ordinary frangipane tart, but a Three Kings’ Cake or Twelfth-night Cake that contains a bean. Whoever gets the piece of Twelfth Cake with the bean is king or queen for the day or night. It’s a tradition that started in medieval times in Flanders.
This year baker Luc of Bakery De Weerdt in Sint-Gillis (Brussels) is adding extra excitement to the festivities. He intends to bake two Three Kings’ cakes that will each contain a gold coin instead of the more customary bean.
“Tomorrow two of my frangipane cakes will contain a real gold coin. The coins are 18 carat gold and bear an inscription stating the year and the name of the bakery. They are magnificent and worth quite a bit, some 480 euros”.
Expect even larger queues outside this bakery, but a share of luck will also be required to get hold of the right Bakewell tart. Luc expects to sell 2,500 specimens.
