A tender pastry dough, stuffed with a pecan praline filling, glazed and decorated with tinted sugars.
Mardi Gras King Cake
It's Twelfth Night - or it will be at sunset today. Yep. And... before you know it, they're everywhere! No matter where you go they will be in your face. You can't escape them. They scream at you from far and near. What am I talking about you say?
Plastic babies? In bags? With colored beads?
It must be ...
Gotta be ...
King Cake Time!
Luscious, cinnamon sweet dough, generally filled with cream cheese or some kind of fruity filling or both, shaped into a ring and sprinkled with sugars in the colors of Mardi Gras - purple, green and gold, representing justice, faith and power. (And, yes, yes, I know... these are nothing like European king cakes.)
Carnival Season means it's King Cake time!
One of the most popular customs for Twelfth Night is baking of a special cake in honor of the three kings - "a King's Cake." While Europeans hide a bean inside their cake and the person receiving the bean must portray one of the kings, those of the Latin-American culture place a small figure inside the cake representing the Christ Child. It is said that the year of good fortune awaits the lucky person who gets the figure.
In our coastal counties of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, we have carried that further to mean not only will that the person who receives the piece with the plastic baby trinket tucked inside be ensured a lucky year, but they are also obligated to continue the festivities by hosting another party and of course, another king cake!
These Mardi Gras king cakes make their appearance at the beginning of Carnival Season which starts officially on the eve of January 5th, or Twelfth Night. As soon as you walk into the local market you are hit with huge displays of these lovely sugary concoctions, in all manner of fillings for every appetite. And while yes, even though these are pretty yummy, and Gambinos over in New Orleans are delicious, my personal favorites come locally from Paul's Pastry Shop over in Picayune, Mississippi - right at the Louisiana border. Their dough is much more tender and delicious than any supermarket cake - and Paul's are always fresher tasting. They are just the best!
Heck you can even pick up a Paul's Pastry king cake at local Fayards BP gas stations, but ya gotta get 'em early because they go fast. I love the berry ones the most - strawberry, blueberry, raspberry - the combo berry, is excellent - but then the Mississippi Mud king cake and the Pecan Praline king cake are awesome too! So many to decide from. In case you decide to have a little Mardi Gras party of your own, or just want to treat your friends or family to a very special treat, check out their menu!
Of course you can also always make your own. This one requires an overnight refrigeration but it is worth the planning.
♕ Looking for more Mardi Gras party food ideas? Click right here!
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| A beautiful picture of this King Cake recipe, shared by Tami R., one of our Facebook family and photographed by her daughter, of Hannah Rhymes Photography! |
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