Fat Tuesday

I have learned, that by being a New Orleans Saints fan, you become a fan of New Orleans as well. It just seems that the team and the city are so connected that it's hard to separate one from the other. I am learning about all things New Orleans, like the food, the history, the traditions, the music, and of course, Mardi Gras. 

Today is Fat Tuesday, marking the end of the Mardi Gras, celebration. "Mardi Gras" actually means "Fat Tuesday." One of the famous New Orleans Mardi Gras traditions is the King Cake. Last year, I ordered an authentic one from here. It was delicious and fun. Today, I decided to try to make one myself, so I googled "easy king cake." Easy is the key word people. Of course, before I could start on the cake, I needed a baby to bake inside it. You see, a King Cake has a baby hidden inside. The person who gets the piece with the baby inside is King for the day, and has to bring the cake to the next party. I found this little pack of babies at Matthew's favorite store, Crafts and Occasions.

I selected this one as the perfect baby to go inside the cake.

The easy part of this cake is that it is made with crescent rolls. Fitting for a cake made famous in the Crescent City, don't you think? Complete directions for the cake, along with step by step photos, can be found here. The filling is especially yummy, made with cream cheese, brown sugar, raisins, and pecans, all mixed in the food processor.

Here it is just out of the oven.

And all decorated in the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold.

The purple stands for justice, the green stands for faith, and the gold stands for power. And the beads are just for fun. In New Orleans, there are beads in the trees along St. Charles Avenue all year long.

I took the cake to our mission committee meeting at church tonight, and we enjoyed it together. Not quite like a Fat Tuesday celebration in NOLA, but fun nonetheless. My friend Bev got the piece with the baby. She'll be in charge of the cake next year. Laissez les bon temps rouler!