The King Cake and I

Several years ago, one of my office mates (who has since gotten his law degree and joined the dark side) started a "Mardi Gras King Cake" tradition in our office. King Cakes are traditionally served between Epiphany and Mardi Gras. If you don't know about King Cakes, you can read about the here or here. Once or twice we ordered the cake from New Orleans, then we got them locally.

Last year I baked the cake, and it was a big hit, so I made it again this year, even though I didn't get the baby - there as little baby (Baby Jesus) hidden in the cake, and the lucky person getting that piece gets to bring the cake the next year! (Psst, don't tell anyone, but I have never gotten the baby!) Last year's cake was unfilled, but this year I did it with a cream cheese filling. Here's the best recipe I've found so far. It's the only one with the right proportions for the icing. Half of the filling is plenty, though.)

Here's the curmudgeon baker holding this year's cake. The blue sprinkles are actually purple.


What's even better about this Mardi Gras is that, in addition to King Cake, we're planning a waffle day, where we make waffles with every imaginable topping on them. We had everyone sign up to bring various toppings. Some of the confirmed dieters will be bringing in some "low fat" toppings. However, I can pretty much assure that this is going to be a diet busting event!