February 27, 2019

Hi All!

A Mardi Gras time just wouldn't be the same without a King
Cake! The King Cake is a traditional Mardi Gras treat, usually
braided into an oval ring to represent a crown, then after
baking is decorated with fondant icing and colored sugar in
the Mardi Gras colors: gold for power, green for faith and
purple for justice. Traditionally, the person who finds the
hidden "baby" in his or her slice of cake must provide the cake
the next year. The miniature plastic babies are a symbol for
the baby Jesus. The Mardi Gras season kicks off with Epiphany,
the commemoration of the night the Three Kings brought gifts
to the baby Jesus. The celebration continues through Fat Tuesday
and ends with Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten fast.

Literally hundreds of thousands of king cakes are consumed at
parties worldwide every year. They can be time consuming to
prepare which is why this is such big business at the bakeries.
Here's a KING CAKE recipe version you easily make yourself
simply using a tub pan. And what's with throwing all kinds
of stuff for Mardi Gras? I've added a bit about that below too.


Check out The Last and Only Kitchen Knife You'll Ever Need...





Enjoy!
Marzee
Email Marzee
Take the poll: vote for your favorite
winter comfort food here

MARDI GRAS KING CAKE

3 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 egg whites
Light Lemon Glaze (recipe follows)
Colored sugar crystals (purple, green and gold)
Small 1-inch plastic baby doll

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch
tube pan. Sift flour before measuring and combine with
sugar, water, oil, dry milk, baking powder, vanilla, and
salt in a bowl. Mix until smooth. Whip the egg whites until
stiff. Fold whipped egg whites into the batter until evenly
blended. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake 40 to 50
minutes until cake bounces back when gently touched in the
center. Insert doll in cake before inverting cake out of
pan. Turn out of pan onto cake rack; cool thoroughly.
Drizzle with Light Lemon Glaze and decorate in 2-inch
sections of purple, green and gold sugar crystals.

* LIGHT LEMON GLAZE
Mix 1 cup sifted powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon fresh
lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind, a dash of salt,
and 2 to 3 tablespoons hot water until mixture is smooth and
can be drizzled onto the cake.

Yield: Makes one 10-inch tube cake, approx 20 slices
Category: Cakes, Holiday

~*~*~*~*~* MARZEE's CORNER *~*~*~*~*~

WHY DO THEY THROW STUFF AT MARDI GRAS PARADES?

A tradition that sets Mardi Gras parades apart from any
others is the distribution of "throws" to the crowd.
Throws are inexpensive trinkets tossed from the floats by
costumed and masked krewe members. The most popular throws
are items showing the organization's logo or parade theme,
such as medallion necklaces, plastic cups and colorful coin-
like objects called doubloons. The popularity of throws is
so great that crowd participation has become as much a part
of parades as the krewes that put them on. All along the
parade routes, the sound of people shouting "Throw me
something, mister" is the battle cry of millions trying to
get the attention of krewe members on the floats.

If you're at your first parade and reach down to pick up a
doubloon with your hand, your fingers may never be the same!
Many stomp on doubloons in their rush to claim them.


Turn Your Backyard into a Tropical Paradise! Get the Solar-Powered Torches Before They're Gone