When I interview alumni entrepreneurs for CSProfiles.rice.edu, I often ask what problem they were trying to solve when they started their company.  The problem I wanted to solve when we moved to the Los Angeles area in 1996 was getting a Baton Rouge-style King Cake for Mardi Gras. If you are a Texpat* longing for the taste of home during Mardi Gras season, you might have the same problem.

Little did I know that finding any kind of King Cake – even the mass produced ones that taste like old dry bread – would prove difficult so far from Louisiana. So I learned to make my own. Note that a King Cake is not really a cake; it is a cake-sized cinnamon roll shaped in an oval or circle. A plastic baby is baked inside and colored sugars in Mardi Gras colors top the vanilla glaze. The best King Cakes also have a rich filling. My King Cake recipe includes a buttery brown sugar filling with a hint of yogurt to offset the sweet rush.  It takes about 6-7 hours to make a King Cake because the dough rises three times.  But, oh! so worth it.

The plastic baby is a good luck token. I’ve heard the original King Cakes had a flaky, layered texture more like a croissant and included an almond paste filling with a dry bean as the good luck token. If your piece contains the baby or the bean, you get a year of good fortune, but you are also supposed to supply the next King Cake. In a Louisiana office or a classroom, King Cakes might make an appearance every day from January 6 until Fat Tuesday (the day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday).

 

* If you were born and bred in Louisiana, you might like my recipe, but your mom probably has a much more authentic King Cake recipe (or other source).

 

 

Whoever finds the small plastic baby will have good fortune for a year, but they also have to bring the next King Cake!