A fève is a small trinket hidden in a

king cake A king cake, also known as a three kings cake or a baby cake, is a cake associated in many countries with Epiphany (holiday), Epiphany, the celebration of the Twelfth Night (holiday), Twelfth Night after Christmas. Its form and ingredients are va ...

or similar dessert. They may also be known as ''trinkets'' or ''favors''. The French word translates to '

fava bean ''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Vari ...

', which is what was originally hidden in the cake. Modern fèves can be made out of other materials, such as

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

or plastic, and can take varied shapes and forms. The themes of fève are very diverse and may include religious symbols, tools related to baking or even depictions of famous figures. Cakes with fèves are found throughout Europe and the US and are particularly associated with

Three Kings Day Epiphany ( ), also known as "Theophany" in Eastern Christian tradition, is a Christian feast day commemorating the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding at Cana. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally ...

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...

. The person who finds the fève usually is awarded special privileges or gifts for the day. Fèves have also become collectors items, and in France, their collectors are known as ''fabophiles'' or ''favophiles''.

History in Europe

During the Middle Ages bakers began replacing the fava bean with a porcelain trinket, usually depicting religious figures like the

baby Jesus The Christ Child—also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of Jesus' life, described in the canonical Gospe ...

. By the 19th century these icons had largely replaced the fava bean and included whimsical shapes like lucky charms as well as more risqué subject matter. By the 20th century cartoon characters and pop culture icons were also integrated into designs and were more commonly made of plastic post-1950. During the Nazi occupation of France, 13 fèves were commissioned for a group of Nazi officer. Each one was emblazoned with a swastika and possession of one allegedly allowed the officer entry into an exclusive swingers club. Modern fabophiles have indicated that some of these figures have survived into the modern era. However, these collectors generally do not care to acknowledge them due to their connection to

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

and military occupation, as well as fear of theft held by those in possession of one or more of the items. In Contemporary times, fèves are released in sets of eight to twelve, generally inexpensive, and designed to appeal to children and collectors alike.

In the United States

In an American

– popularly eaten during

Epiphanytide The Epiphany season, also known as Epiphanytide or the time of Sundays after Epiphany, is a liturgical period, celebrated by many Christian Churches, which immediately follows the Christmas season. It begins on Epiphany Day, and ends at vario ...

, as well as around

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

– the fève traditionally takes the form of a small plastic or porcelain baby, symbolizing

. Fava beans were also used to represent Jesus.Eliza Barclay: ''Is That a Plastic Baby Jesus in My Cake''

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

from 2012-2-17 The one who finds the baby Jesus in their slice of cake is said to receive luck and prosperity, and is responsible for baking or purchasing the next year's cake, or for throwing the next Mardi Gras party. In some traditions, the finder of the baby is designated "king" or "queen" for the evening. As plastic babies replaced beans and porcelain figures, commercial bakers have begun placing the baby outside of the cake, and leaving the hiding to the customer. This is also because there is a potential of customers choking on or swallowing the baby, for which bakers want to avoid liability.

Cakes that contain fèves

King cake A king cake, also known as a three kings cake or a baby cake, is a cake associated in many countries with Epiphany (holiday), Epiphany, the celebration of the Twelfth Night (holiday), Twelfth Night after Christmas. Its form and ingredients are va ...

Rosca de reyes A king cake, also known as a three kings cake or a baby cake, is a cake associated in many countries with Epiphany, the celebration of the Twelfth Night after Christmas. Its form and ingredients are variable, but in most cases a () such as a fi ...

* Bolo-rei *

Tortell Tortell may refer to: * Greg Tortell, aka Tortelvis, a member of Dread Zeppelin Dread Zeppelin was an American reggae rock band. Formed in 1989 in Sierra Madre, California, the band combined hard rock and reggae styles with humor. They are best ...

Vasilopita Vasilopita (, ''Vasilópita'', lit. '(St.) Basil-pie' or 'Vassilis pie', see below) is a New Year's Day bread, cake or pie in Greece and many other areas in eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East which contains a hidden coin or trinket ...

References

Christmas food Culture of New Orleans Carnival foods Cuisine of New Orleans French desserts Culture of France {{US-dessert-stub