King Cake

Oh, King Cake, how I love you in all your Mardi Gras gaudiness.

In the days leading up to Fat Tuesday, I like to complain a lot about making King Cakes because...well, it's a little bit of a pain and seeing that I always make it for Fat TUESDAY, that means I'm baking on a Monday night. (I know, the problems I have are probably bringing a tear to your eye as you read this.)

Nevertheless, there I was this past Monday baking away and it would be disingenuous to pretend that I wasn't quite pleased with how perfect this year's cake turned out. I only ever do what Emeril tells me to, but this time I did well with the uniformity of the colored sugar and the roundness of the cake.

King Cake, really, is a sweetened yeast bread. I love it's lemon-scented doughy simplicity. The trifecta of bold sugars is nothing but fun and yes, the colors mean something: Purple for Justice, Gold for Power, and Green for Faith.

The other special thing about the King Cake is the little trinket that gets hidden inside. This can range from a little plastic baby (I know, weird), a coin, a dried bean, or a pecan. The first time I ever made this, I proudly presented it to The Chef and after he stared at it, looking intently at every angle for an annoying amount of time, he cut the first piece and got the coin. Great.

For Emeril's recipe, click here.