Mo' from NEW ORLEANS: King Cake

I'd like to think I'm open to all kinds of new cultural phenomena and traditions. But when my roomate first approached me and told me that there is a tradition in Louisiana where you bake a baby into a cake, I appropriately thought this was a little strange. "A LIVE baby?" I said. She entertained the idea for a while and then divulged that it was, in fact, a small plastic baby. Ok this is slightly more appropriate, I thought. Well, as you could imagine, I just had to see this baby-in-cake tradition for myself. I ventured with my roomate down to her hometown of New Orleans, where her mom had bought us a KING CAKE (similar to the galette de Rois in france), with- oh yes- a plastic baby hidden inside. A brioche-like cake decorated in purple, green, and gold (the traditional Mardi Gras colors), this cake screams fun, deliciousness, and ridiculousness. And the best part is, you don't have to bake a real live human child in the center!

New Orlean's King Cake from Zoës Bakery in Covington, LA

My roomate and my attempt at recreating the King Cake. Not as visually appealing, maybe, but oh so delicious. More dense and cookie-like with cinnamon praline sugar swirled through.