recipe reviews for:

Mardi Gras King Cake

“The King Cake is a New Orleans tradition that involves a pastry, a small plastic baby, and a party. The King Cake is baked with a small plastic baby hidden inside, the person who gets the slice with baby in it has to host the next party. Make sure to buy a new small plastic baby so you can get the full effect from this cake! Sprinkle with purple, green and gold sugar, or decorate with whole pecans and candied cherries. Note: Be sure to tell everyone to inspect their piece of cake before they begin eating it. To be extra careful, use a plastic toy baby that is too large to swallow, or hide an orange wedge or 3-4 pecan halves inside the cake (avoid items that may hurt someone's teeth) and then simply place the honorable toy baby outside on the top of the cake for all to see and adore!”

SORT REVIEWS BY:
DATE
RATING
MOST HELPFUL

Reviewed: Mar. 15, 2004

I am from New Orleans and this one was pretty close. Since we don't add the raisins to our King Cakes, I left that part out. It was a great substitute for us now that we are far from home. Thank you!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

HAMMER69

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 25, 2004

I just made this and took it in to the office, and it got rave reviews. I used dried cranberries in place of the raisins. Delish!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

BETHRAZLER

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 21, 2004

Yummy! Especially good still slightly warm. Much better than the mail order one we got from the bakery in New Orleans. Will definitely make this one again next year. I made the batter, let it rise, and formed it into the rings the night before, then put it in the 'fridge. The next morning, I let it come to room temperature, rise, then baked them for the normal time.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
15 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

PEABODYDOG

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Roswell, Georgia, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 19, 2003

Pretty good! Definitely made a pleasant change from the typical dessert.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

FIREKITTY

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 5, 2003

I made 2 of these...one for my daughter to take to school and one for home. As far as the dough goes...it was wonderful to work with. It baked well too. I thought that the finished product was a bit on the dry side though (perhaps spreading softened butter on the dough before sprinkling the sugar/nut mixture. Also, I thought it was a bit "yeasty" in flavor and smell...perhaps it was the type of dry yeast I used though?? I would definitely make it again with just a few "tweaks" to take care of the areas dryness and over yeasty flavor. Overall a good recipe though!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

BABYCAKES291

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Kennesaw, Georgia, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 4, 2003

not that good, i made a cream cheese frosting which made it better

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

CHELSEAK3

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Holladay, Utah, USA

Living In: Riverton, Utah, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 3, 2003

I am from New Orleans and find this to be a very authentic tasting recipe. I use my bread machine on the dough cycle thru step 3 and find it makes the recipe even easier. It can also be filled with ready made pie fillings ie. lemon,cherry,apple which is another thing that is being done in New Orleans. Plastic babies can be gotten from party stores in the baby shower area. thanks Jo!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
36 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

SCBIANCO

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 1, 2003

Made this cake for my daughter-in-law from New Orleans who was really feeling homesick. She loved it. We all did. Left out the raisins. Really easy. Awesome. Will definitely make again and again.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

STACG1

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 15, 2002

Tastes like a huge cinnamon roll. Very pretty too.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

LCASEY

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Decatur, Alabama, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 6, 2002

Absolutely incredible. I have made the cake twice and both times I cut the recipe in half. I also substitute applesauce for the butter in the dough and add lots of raisins and prepare the dough using a bread maker (use extra milk instead of the water and just throw the ingredients in the bread maker according to its directions - I do liquids, then dry ingredients, and yeast last). For the filling I also use applesauce instead of butter but add a little at a time to get a nice pasty filling that I can spread. Before I bake the bread, I add an egg white wash so that it comes out golden brown. I can not believe how delicious this cake is without using any butter. No one believes me that it isn't full of oil and butter. My favorite recipe!!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
55 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

JNFAGAN

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 1, 2002

The best ever, and easy to make. I make this recipe for church mardi-gras festivals (12 to 16 at a time) People rave about them. Jo has a great recipe here.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

HENRYK

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 16, 2002

This is easy to make, but I needed less flour. I used four and a half cups. I also tried using lemon pie filling in one of the cakes and the kids loved it.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

KAJIIRA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Fairfax, Virginia, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Apr. 15, 2001

I made this for a Mardi Gras Party in French class, and everyone loved it! If you leave out the plastic baby, it also makes a great breakfast bread! I get requests for it all the time. Tip: If making it for breakfast, make most of the roll the night before, and let it rise the second time overnight. Then simply pop it in the oven the next morning, glaze, and Voila! A delicious breakfast bread. :-)

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
34 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

ROSEM1985

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 27, 2001

I cooked this for my french class on mardi gras and everyone love it. I made two one for french one for english. my english teacher askes me everyday when I am going to bring in another kings cake.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

AMANDADH

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 13, 2001

Close to authentic, but there are no raisins in a real King Cake here in Louisiana. There may be other fillings, fruit or cream flavored, depending on how brave the cook wants to be.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
4 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

MARY BURNS

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 19, 2000

I was on a hunt to find a great King Cake recipe this past Mardi Gras. I made a dozen of these and everyone absolutely LOVED them. It is the easiest recipe (as far as King Cakes go) and the most authentic I found. I had people originally from New Orleans saying it tasted just like home! I shaped mine into a circle without the cuts and slathered the icing and stripes of yellow, purple, and green sugar - I also sat my babies on the top so that there wasn't an accidental choking!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
20 users found this review helpful