BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Bakeries across Bakersfield are making and selling hundreds of Rosca de Reyes, also known as Kings Cake. The cakes are a tradition that originated in France in the 14th Century, and later adopted by Hispanic Christians.
Los Reyes Market and cake decorator Arlette Delahod shared the tradition with 23ABC.
"Christmas or after New Year's, a lot of the times we don't gather around as a family, so having this extra day is - it's kind of nice to still have that sense of family," said Delahod.
Kings Cakes symbolize the Three Kings gifting the Christ Child with presents. The shape of the cake represents God's eternal love, the candied fruit on top of the cake represents the jewels on the kings' crowns, and the baby hidden inside the cake represents Baby Jesus.
Shopper Marcos Lopez enjoys partaking in the tradition with his family, and describes how he eats Kings Cake.
"I think it's very delicious when it's paired with hot chocolate," said Lopez.
If you happen to find Baby Jesus in your slice of Kings Cake, it's a sign of good luck. However, in most households, it also means that you are responsible for making tamales and bringing them to the Candlemas, or Dia de la Candelaria, which takes place on February 2.
Delahod says the process of making a Kings Cake is not an easy one.
"Everything his hard, from actually getting the dough correct," explains Delahod. "If you don't have a good dough, if you don't have a good consistency, then that can alter the way that the Rosca comes out, the way that you see it. I mean, you could tell they're pretty big and thick, so that's what we're looking for."
Delahod says one Rosca can take up to an hour or more to produce, and her plan is to make roughly 500 cakes or more. Every component takes an ample amount of time, from the dough to the paste, and the candied fruits on top.
Delahod says in order to get that fluffy dough consistency, the key is letting the dough rest overnight and continuing the process the following day.
"It's a really busy day," said Delahod. "At the beginning of the week, they started making some, and so each day they would make dough, let it sit through the night, and the next day they would do the whole process over again."
