The magic of king cake

Okay friends. Grab some coffee, king cake if you have it, and sit down. Well you are probably already sitting down... If that's the case keep sitting down and get up to get your cake and beverage after you read this.

KING CAKE! Those two words are enough to make my mouth water. Growing up in Louisiana I have a fondness for this Mardi Gras staple. It is amazing. It is heaven to your taste buds.

After moving to Illinois I feared that it might be ages before I experienced the wonderment that is this cake. But fear not! I have an amazing sister. She ordered one and had it shipped to me. If you have never tried king cake then you can not understand my excitement when Mr. FedEx rang my door bell. I opened the door and there was that glorious box.
I could smell the cake as I carried the box to the kitchen. Then I couldn't get the box open! I guess they figure that they should give you some kind of exercise prior to eating this sugar and calorie filled treat.

It was packaged like this:

I thought hmmm. That doesn't look like a king cake. After opening it the rest of the way I found this:

Ah! Now I see. Very smart! If it came decorated and was jostled on the journey it would arrive messed up and ugly.

So I quickly decorated it. I had very little patience. I NEEDED to eat it right away!

It was amazing. Absolutely the best king cake I have ever eaten. Luckily they included a menu and the website information to order another one if I wanted. I want! It is definitely not cheap. You can certainly get them cheaper if you live in an area that sells them.

There is a tiny baby inside the cake. The tradition is that if you get the piece of cake with the baby in it you have to host the next king cake party!

They also had a flyer with an explanation of the history of Mardi Gras and king cakes.

If you are interested you can order one for yourself HERE.

Mardi Gras is such a fun time of the year. I'm sad that I'm missing out. Having this cake makes it a little better.

Last year we took Noah to his first Mardi Gras parade. Don't worry not all parades are crazy New Orleans naked people parades. He kept saying the whole time that he wanted a stuffed animal. Finally he caught one...and then another. Parade days are usually cold and rainy. You go down to the parade route EARLY in the morning and stake out a place. We always bring the camper. It helps to have a warm place to hide out. We barbecue all day and hang out with family and friends. The parade starts. You catch cups, beads, coins, and stuffed toys. You listen to the bands and admire the pretty floats. You pack up your loot and sit in traffic for hours trying to get home. It is crazy. It is fun. It is Mardi Gras.

 Mardi Gras is not Mardi Gras without king cake!