New Orleans Food of the Month for January - King Cake
When it comes to food and Carnival, we have to talk about king cakes. The cinnamony coffee cake topped with yellow, green and purple sugars is as much a symbol of Mardi Gras as beads and jesters are. Many are filled with a cream or fruit filling, but they all (should) have a baby. Whoever finds the small plastic doll has to bring the king cake to the next party.
There is much debate about who makes the best king cake - and they're all correct. Luckily for those of us who aren't in the Big Easy, many of them do ship - or, bake your own, if you're so inclined! Just don't forget the baby.
The knife stays IN THE BOX until the last piece is eaten! Because you don't want to cut the cake in slices all at once,l it will dry out, and it is rude to make someone look for a knife when they want a piece of king cake!
Rules in our family which may or may not apply to other families:
If there is no knife, what remains of the cake in the box is legally considered one piece and can be eaten up by one person.
If you remove the knife from the king cake box to use for something else, and then return it to the box, your Mardi Gras is over. Your personal season of Lent begins immediately.
If you remove the knife from the king cake box and do not replace it nor return it to the box, you go straight to hell.