Happy Mardi Gras! King Cake from Scratch

King Cake for your very own Mardi Gras celebration.

Mardi Gras is on Tuesday, bringing in the season of Lent. That means that for some people, it's time to give something up for a month and stop eating meat on Fridays. It's that fun time of year when fast food joints and school cafeterias start carrying those "fish" sandwiches. I use the word fish loosely here. Seriously I'm pretty sure its cardboard with a splash of fish sauce squished together to form a patty-shaped thing. For the South, though, Mardi Gras is WAY more important than Lent. If you've ever been to New Orleans around this time of year, you know that religion really doesn't enter the minds of most Mardi Gras revelers. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only thing that enters their minds is copious amounts of alcohol, and possibly other mind-altering substances. Why else would someone want to fight a thousand people for a 5 cent string of beads?

I have a bunch of family down in Mardi Gras Land, and even some family members who ride in a Krewe. Yes, that is how you spell Krewe. I've been to a parade or two, but have never risked life, limb, and sanity in the French Quarter to see the famous parades. Instead, I prefer to celebrate Mardi Gras as it was originally meant: a way to use up all of the rich and tasty food before giving up everything for Lent. What better way is there to start such a solemn and religious time than on a sugar high?

Traditionally, King Cakes are made to celebrate the Three Kings visiting Christ on Epiphany (hence the name). They are in the shape of a crown and are topped with symbolic colors. Purple for royalty, Green for faith, and Gold for power. Inside each cake is a tiny plastic baby doll, representing Christ. The person who gets the doll is King of the party, but has to throw the fete (that's French for party... I think?) next year.

The cake itself isn't very complicated. In fact, it really is just a glorified cinnamon roll in a circle. That means it isn't very difficult to make, so even you, my Yankee friends, can celebrate like a Louisianan on Tuesday. When you don't have a doll, you can sub in a penny, but PLEASE let your guests know that there is something in their cake so they won't accidentally swallow it or break a tooth. So bake your cake, grab some beads, and drink up. Lent is coming, and that means no fun until Easter!

Ready to eat!

Mardi Gras King Cake (adapted from AllRecipes)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
2 packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
2/3 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp salt
5 1/2 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar
1 tbl cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted

2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbl cold milk

1 cup sugar, divided into 1/3 cup portions
Green, yellow, blue, red food coloring

Heat the milk until it starts to bubble. Add butter, and stir until butter melts. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1/2 cup sugar. Allow to sit until frothy, about 10 min. Add milk mixture, eggs, and salt. Stir well. Begin adding flour, 1 cup at a time, until a dough has formed. Add enough flour so that the dough isn't sticky. Knead until elastic on a well floured surface, and allow to rise for 90 min, or until doubled in size.

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter in a small bowl. Punch down dough and divide into two balls. Form two long rolls (about 20 in long) with the dough and roll out flat. Spread brown sugar/butter mix evenly over the dough. Roll up the dough to form two long logs. Twist logs together, then join the ends to form a circle. Push in a plastic baby doll or penny between a twist. Allow to rise again for 30 min.

Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Bake cake for approximately 30 min, or until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly

To make the icing, slowly add milk to powdered sugar in a small bowl. Add enough milk that the icing flows, but isn't too liquid. After the cake has cooled slightly, spread icing over the top.

Add 3 drops of gold food coloring to 1/3 cup sugar. In a separate bowl,
add 3 drops of green food coloring to 1/3 cup sugar. Add 3 drops of red and 3 drops of blue food coloring to the final 1/3 cup sugar to make purple sprinkles. Mix each sugar/food coloring mixture well, until all food coloring chunks disappear. You can add more food coloring if you would like darker sprinkles. Top the iced King Cake in sections with each of the sprinkles. Enjoy!