CELEBRATE MARDI GRAS MARDI GRAS KING CAKE This traditional cake, made here with a rich brioche dough stuffed with a decadent cream cheese filling and drizzled with a buttermilk glaze and green, gold and purple sanding sugars.
MARDI GRAS Traditionally in the days leading up to Lent, merrymakers would binge on all the meat, eggs, milk and cheese that remained in their homes, preparing for several weeks of eating only fish and fasting. In France, the day before Ash Wednesday came to be known as Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. Dating back several thousand years as a Christian holiday, Mardi Gras is also known as Carnival and is mainly celebrated in countries with large Roman Catholic populations. The celebration begins the day before Lent and draws thousands of tourists to New Orleans every year. Louisiana is the only state that claims Mardi Gras as a legal holiday. The official colors of Mardi Gras are purple, gold and green. The color of the beads was determined by the king of the first daytime Carnival in 1872. He wanted the colors to be royal; purple was for justice, green was for faith and gold was for power. The king’s idea was to toss the color of bead to the
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person he thought exhibited the colors’ meaning; but the beads were made of glass and weren’t ideal for tossing. After someone decided plastic beads would be better, it became a tradition to toss beads at festivities in New Orleans. When people think of Mardi Gras and bead throwing they relate it to rowdy behavior! This started when men would demand that women show them a body part in exchange for beads. However, many of the long time Mardi Gras attendees will tell you this happens mainly in the French Quarter and not along the parade route! A new king is crowned every year in New Orleans. The Rex Organization chooses a prominent citizen in New Orleans to reign over the festivities. He is given the symbolic Key to the City by the Mayor. Another tradition of Mardi Gras is the handing out of Zulu Coconuts. Known for handing out Zulu coconuts or golden nuggets, at first they handed them out in their original hairy state, but later Zulu members started painting them. One of the most sought after traditions is receiving a Zulu Coconut during Mardi Gras.
1 1/4 oz package active dry yeast 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup milk 2 Tbsp light brown sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 egg 1egg yolk 2 3/4 cup flour 3/4 tsp. kosher salt 8 Tbsp. softened butter 1 lb. cream cheese 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup chopped pecans 2 Tbsp maple syrup 2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp. kosher salt 1/2 tsp. lemon zest 2 cups confectioners’ sugar 1/2 cup buttermilk green, purple & yellow sanding sugar 1 Make the dough: In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a hook, combine yeast, 1/2 tsp. sugar and 1/4 cup warm (115 degrees) water. Stir to combine and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add remaining sugar, milk, light brown sugar, vanilla, egg and egg yolk. Beat on low speed until thoroughly combined, 1 minute. Turn mixer off and add flour and salt. Mix on medium speed until the dough just comes together. Turn mixer speed to high and knead dough for 4 minutes. Add the buter and continue kneading until dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 6 minutes. Remove bowl from mixer, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit until doubled in size, 1 1/2 - 2 hours. 2 Meanwhile, make the filling: Combine cream cheese, brown sugar, pecans, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt and zest in a large bowl and beat on medium speed of a hand mixer until combined; set aside. 3 Punch down dough and turn it out onto a heavily floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a large circle, about 1/4” thick. Cut a hole in the center of the circle and pull with your fingers to widen. Place dollops of