Take A Break: Make a “King Cake”

I grew up with a mother that celebrated every possible holiday she could. A frustrated artist in some ways, my Mom’s outlet was to introduce her children, as well as her students (she taught 3rd grade) to all kinds of traditions. There was green oatmeal on St. Patrick’s Day and Chinese food for Chinese New Year. We received our Christmas stockings on Dec. 6, St. Nicholas Day and celebrated Mardi Gras the day before Ash Wednesday.

Outside of Christmas and Easter, February was a very busy month for my Mom. She used Black History Month, Mardi Gras, Chinese New Years and Valentine’s Day to make a very dreary time quite a lot of fun. In honor of my Mom, the next three Take a Break Wednesdays will be crafts and ideas to celebrate the February holidays.

If you live in New Orleans, you have been eating King Cake since January 6 (Epiphany-Feast of the Three Kings). Based on a European tradition, the oval cake symbolizes the unity of faiths. Decorated with purple, green and gold (yellow) sugars, a small baby is tucked into each cake. The baby symbolizes the baby Jesus, and the Three Kings search for the child.

There are different customs about what it means to “find the baby” in your slice-my Mom used a bean or a penny instead of a baby. In some places, the baby means you host the next party, or you purchase the next King Cake. Since my husband is a Cajun and zydeco fiddler, the Mardi Gras parties are generally at our house. We have started the tradition that if your slice has the baby you are responsible for bringing the King Cake for next year’s party.

The thought of a plastic baby being baked in a cake doesn’t seem like a very healthy idea. Instead, just shove it into the cake after it’s baked and cooled. You’ll probably want to do it before you ice it.

There are a variety of recipes for King Cake on the web, and you can certainly order a box mix from New Orleans. However, the simplest way is to make the cake using a tube of cinnamon rolls.

You can make individual ones, by taking each roll and rolling into a hot dog shape, and making an oval. You can also pinch the dough together, roll it out so everything is connected, and then turn into one large oval. You can also divide the sheet into three lengths, braid and then shape into an oval. Follow the cooking directions on the can.

After it’s cooled, use the icing that comes with the can (or make more if you prefer) and decorate with purple, yellow and green sugars. These are easy to make. Pour some sugar into a bowl; add a drop or two of food coloring and mix. Let dry before sprinkling for best results. Of course you can divide the icing into three bowls and color accordingly.

Babies can be purchased at a craft, party store or any place that sells baby shower favors. As they say in Cajun country Laissez le bon temps rouler Let the Good Times Roll!