MARDI GRAS CELEBRATION

MARDI GRAS CHARCUTERIE BOARD

Beads and bling, it’s a Mardi Gras thing!  As part of our New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebration, there’s nothing more fun than a Mardi Gras Charcuterie Board – easily customized with cheese, meats, fruits, and always some sweets and treats!  Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler – “Let the good times roll

KING CAKE (Cinnamon Swirled Bundt Cake)

​This old-fashioned sweet cinnamon swirled bundt cake is my twist on King Cake.  Cinnamon and brown sugar cake is marbled with a buttery yellow cake in this easy recipe, drizzled with cream cheese glaze in traditional purple, green and gold Mardi Gras colors, and topped with sprinkles for some special Mardi Gras fun!  My family prefers this tender and moist King Cake to the more traditional bread-like King Cake.

While a "traditional" King Cake is made from twisted strands of cinnamon dough, covered with icing, and sprinkled with purple, green and gold colored sugar, my King Cake is truly a richer and tender coffeecake.  So flavorful, moist, and loaded with cinnamon and brown sugar flavor, it will be your new favorite too!

MARDI GRAS SUGAR COOKIES

Fat Tuesday wouldn't be a celebration without some fun and festive sugar cookies!  These Mardi Gras Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing are my go-to recipe for the softest, thickest and creamiest sugar cookies and the easiest Royal Icing. The dough is easy to roll out and work with, holds its shape and edges, and has a wonderful surface for fun decorating.  Perfectly simple and wonderful! 

MINI-KING CAKES

One of the wonderful traditions of Mardi Gras, and probably the most delicious, is the King Cake.  These old-fashioned sweet cinnamon swirled Mini King Cakes are my twist on traditional King Cake. Cinnamon and brown sugar cake is marbled with a buttery yellow cake in this easy recipe, drizzled with cream cheese glaze in traditional purple, green and gold Mardi Gras colors and topped with gold coin sprinkles for some special Mardi Gras fun! 

​My family prefers this tender and moist King Cake to the more traditional bread-like King Cake. And it’s so much fun when everyone finds a baby tucked in their individual cakelet for good luck! 

WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE KING CAKE TRADITION?

​On the Christian calendar, the 12th day after Christmas is celebrated as the date that the Magi visited the baby Jesus bearing gifts.  This day, January 6, is known by several names including “Epiphany”, “12th Night” or “King’s Day.” The celebration of this event has evolved over the centuries with each culture adding its own unique rituals.  As part of the New Orleans' Mardi Gras celebration, it is traditional to bake a cake in honor of the three Kings – the King Cake.  King Cakes are oval-shaped to symbolize unity of faith.  Each cake is decorated in the traditional Mardi Gras colors: purple (representing justice), green (representing faith) and Gold (representing power).  The small baby, symbolizing the baby Jesus, is traditionally hidden inside each King Cake. 

Like the biblical story, the search for the baby adds excitement, as each person waits to see in which slice of cake the baby will be discovered.  While custom holds that the person who finds the baby will be rewarded with good luck, that lucky person is also traditionally responsible for bringing a King Cake to the next party or gathering.

The ”traditional” King Cake is made from twisted strands of cinnamon dough, covered with icing, and sprinkled with purple, green and gold colored sugar.  Every bakery in New Orleans creates their special King Cakes, and many ship them all over for celebrations.  Because they are a "dough" rather than a true "cake", my opinion is that they tend to be on a dry side - and the ones that I have seen locally have an extreme amount of colored sugar sprinkled on the top - an EXCESSIVE amount of sugar that really gets in the way of enjoying a tender slice of cake.

NEVER MISS A NEW RECIPE!  FOLLOW ME ON
​FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM & PINTEREST!