Mardi Gras Archives - Good Food St. Louis

The King Cake, a Cause to Celebrate

January 13, 2020

With Tom’s birthday falling during the Mardi Gras season, it seemed fitting to celebrate with a King Cake.

We didn’t import the iconic cake from Joe Gambino’s Bakery in Louisiana. We got ours at Federhofer’s Bakery in South County. I gotta say, it compared favorably with those I’ve eaten from the Gulf region.

Tradition Reigns

The crown-shaped delicacy abounds with religious symbolism. It’s served following Epiphany (January 6), the day marking the arrival of the Wise Men twelve days after Christmas.

The celebration and feasting conclude on February 2 with Mardi Gras, (which means Fat Tuesday in French). The next day, Ash Wednesday, ushers in the leaner days of Lent, leading up to Easter.

Well, that’s probably as much church catechism as you want in a food blog, but I think it’s good to know the background for a cooking tradtion.

Implanting the figurine in the baked King Cake.

Unique to the King Cake (so named for the kings involved in the Christmas narrative) is the tiny figure of the baby Jesus hidden in the cake. The finder is crowned king/queen of the party and is expected to buy the next cake and/or host next year’s event.

Hmm . . . so the “losers” get to eat cake and await their invitation to the next feast?

King Cake in a Mix

While I’ve not made the wreath-shaped cake, a friend in Jefferson City sent me photos of the one she made last year. Rather than make it from scratch as she usually did, she used a King Cake kit from World Market. It comes with the dry ingredients, colorful glaze, and plastic figurine.

The official colors of Mardi Gras are shown in the glaze: purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power.

There’s still time to enjoy the festivities, so grab a cake and a few friends and celebrate. You can find King Cakes at La Patisserie Chouquette; Federhofer Bakery; Whole Foods; Diana’s Bakery; Missouri Baking Company; and Pint Size Bakery.

An evening of celebration ends with the cutting and serving of the cake. Hmm. . . I think Tom’s nephews rigged the cake cutting, because Tom got the slice with the figurine! That means he’s suppose to give the party next year. We were all okay with that.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Celebrate Mardi Gras with a King Cake

February 16, 2015

Ever made a King Cake for Mardi Gras? Me neither. But Corrine Beakley of Jefferson City makes one. Originally, she used a Southern Living recipe, that is, until she came upon the King Cake kit. It includes the main ingredients needed: cake mix, yeast, praline mix, glaze mix, green/purple/gold sugar crystals and, of course, the baby. All you add is the egg and butter.

Corrine took pictures of the process, that looks like it was fun and even allowed for a little time by the fireplace while the dough was rising nearby.

This is the King Cake kit that was purchased at World Market.

Combine the cake mix according to directions and place on the hearth to rise until double in size. Have some tea by the fire while you wait.

Roll dough to form a 30″ by 5″ rectangle.

Measure and trim edges to get exact measurement.

Spread the brown sugar praline mix evenly over the dough and form into a 30″ roll, pinching the edge to seal.

Admire your work; you’re almost done.

Shape dough into oval and place on cookie sheet.

Let rise again until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Read your email.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes and let cool before icing.

Ice with powdered sugar glaze.

It looks good enough to eat. . . but hold on, there’s a few more touches to make the cake authentic.

Sprinkle with green, purple and gold sugar crystals.

Last, but not least, add the baby.

Place the baby under the cake so that the recipient easily detects it when they receive a slice.

Be fully informed; read the history of the King Cake on the box.

What better way to celebrate Mardi Gras than to have some Cajun cookin’ topped off with a slice of King Cake and the beverage of your choice. Thanks, Corrine, for making it look easy.