Mardi Gras is the biggest celebration in the city of New Orleans! Did you know that Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday? Mardi Gras is also known as “pancake day” in different countries.
Mardi Gras is always the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. The holiday’s official colors are purple, gold, and green. The purple signifies justice, the gold means power, and the green stands for faith.
The first Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans was held in 1838. Roughly over 1.4 million people visit New Orleans during the carnival season!
A traditional Mardi Gras treat is the king cake! A king cake is a rich, brioche dough that can be made with a wide array of fillings! It also covered with icing and the holiday’s colors, purple, gold, and green.
Check your local bakery to see if they offer a King Cake if not check out the recipe below and make it yourself! But Don’t forget the baby! A figurine baby is baked into part of the cake too, today the baby symbolizes luck and prosperity to whoever finds it in their slice of cake. That person is also responsible for getting next year’s cake!
Check out this recipe for King Cake!
Pastry Ingredients:
2 packages (¼ ounce each) active dry yeast
½ cup of warm water
¾ sugar divided
½ cup butter softened
½ cup warm 2% milk
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1-¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3-¼ to 3-¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg, beaten
Glaze:
1-½ cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 to 3 tablespoons of water
Green, purple and yellow sugars
Directions
- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1/2 cup sugar, butter, milk, egg yolks, salt, lemon zest, nutmeg, and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
- Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 16×10-in. rectangle. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over dough to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet; pinch ends together to form a ring. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Brush with egg.
- Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. For glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and enough water to achieve desired consistency. Spread over cake. Sprinkle with colored sugars.
Courtesy of Taste of Home, click here!