It’s not HARD to get festive for Mardi Gras… when you get an authentic KING CAKE… straight from the
BIG EASY !!!
I was THRILLED to get my cake.. . from Gambino’s famous Bakery in New Orleans, LA!
Gambino’s Bakery ships its famous King Cakes nationwide on Goldbelly!
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You can order Gourmet Food & Gifts For Any Occasion by 900+ Food Makers in 50 States—Shipped Nationwide.
In fact… here’s a little BONUS TIP: You can Get $15 Off on Your First Order!!!
#Hooray !!!!!! 🙌🏽✨
👉🏽 Insert APPLAUSE please—->
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽✨ Yesssss!!!!!
Mardi Gras 🎊 just isn’t the same…without a sweet purple 💜green 💚, and gold 💛Gambino’s Bakery King Cake.
These delectable delights are made with fresh butter and sweet cinnamon, topped with a generous layer of poured fondant, and baked with the customary baby figure inside…
According to TRADITION…whoever finds the lil’ baby in their slice, is king🤴🏽🤴🏻🤴or queen 👸🏽👸🏼👸🏻for the day!😉 And….. you have to buy everyone around at the time… A kings Cake in the next year to come.
You can choose your favorite fillings too! I got Praline/Cream Cheese. When I opened the box… it smelled so good! I just couldn’t wait! I put on the icing, added the colored sugar crystals, and cut myself a slice…
Mmmm… Mmmm!!! It melted in my mouth! The praline ingredient was evident. Pralines are another one of my most FAVORITE things about NEW ORLEANS…
If your taste buds desire another flavor to enhance your cake, there are lots of other choices…including: Cream Cheese, Strawberry 🍓, !Strawberry/Cream Cheese, Bavarian Cream , Praline, and of course… The traditional.
Word on the Streets of New Orleans is: Anyone hosting a Mardi Gras party… has got to get Gambino’s.
Your king cake comes with a package of fondant icing and a package of colored sugars so you can top your own cake in the purple, green, and gold of New Orleans, an official 8 1/2” x 11” Mardi Gras poster, and a brochure on the history of Mardi Gras King Cakes.
A bit more history for you…In the early 1920’s, Beulah Ledner began baking Doberge cakes, a beloved New Orleans regional specialty, from her kitchen and later her bakery. In 1949, she sold her New Orleans bakery and recipes to Joe Gambino, who opened the bakery under his name. Since then, locals and celebrities, from David Letterman to Oprah Winfrey, have ordered Gambino’s classic King Cakes and Doberges.
💚💜💛💚💜💛💚💜💛💚💜💛💚
Laissez les bons temps rouler—let the good times roll—with these braided and buttery, cinnamon-filled cakes that are festively decorated with vibrant colors !!!!
Getting your cake shipped straight to your front door 🚪 in just a couple of days is SUPER convenient.
But if you’re up for some quality baking time… Here’s a recipe that you can follow…. In your very own kitchen. 👇🏾👇🏼👇👇🏿
Ingredients
- 3 1/2cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
- 1package (2 1/4 teaspoons) Rapid Rise yeast
- 1cup milk
- 1/4cup sugar
- 1teaspoon salt
- 2eggs
- 6tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, cut into 12 pieces
Cinnamon Filling
- 2/3cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/2teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Icing
- 1cup powdered sugar
- 1tablespoon milk
- 1/2teaspoon vanilla
Decoration
- Dark green, purple, and yellow or gold sugars, if desired
- Miniature plastic baby, if desired. You can get those at party city, or of course.. AMAZON ! ✨😃✨
Steps
- 1Mix 2 1/2 cups flour and yeast in mixing bowl of stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, on low for about 30 seconds.
- 2Heat milk, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and milk is between 120°F to 130°F.
- 3With mixer on low, pour in liquids and mix until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time. Continue mixing until a shaggy dough forms. Clean off paddle and switch to dough hook. Mix in the remaining 1 cup flour a little at a time, adding more or less flour as needed to make a soft dough. Add the softened butter, a piece at a time, kneading until each piece of butter is absorbed.
- 4Knead for eight minutes on low. The dough should completely clear the sides of the bowl. If it is too sticky, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing in thoroughly before determining if more flour is needed. If the dough seems too dry, spritz with water from a spray bottle a couple of times, mixing in thoroughly before determining if more water is needed. Every 2 minutes, stop the machine, scrape the dough off the hook, and then continue kneading.
- 5Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times by hand to be sure it’s smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball. Place dough into a greased bowl. Turn once so greased surface is on top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- 6While the dough is chilling, make cinnamon filling. In small bowl, combine the brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Combine butter with cinnamon mixture and mix well.
- 7Roll the chilled dough into a 10 x 20 inch rectangle. Spread the filling on half of the long side of the dough. Fold the dough in half covering the filling. Pat dough down firmly so the dough will stick together. Cut dough into three long strips. Press the tops of the strips together and braid the strips. Press the ends together at the bottom. Gently stretch the braid so that it measures 20 inches again. Shape it into a circle/oval and press the edges together.
- 8Transfer the ring to a parchment lined or greased baking sheet. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350°. Bake the cake until it is golden brown, 20 – 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes on baking sheet and then place it on a cooling rack to cool completely before icing. To hide the baby in the cake, if desired, make a small slit in the bottom of the cake and put the miniature plastic baby in after the cake has cooled.
- 9Icing: In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth (add additional milk if mixture is too thick or powdered sugar if too thin).
- 10Spoon icing over top of the cake. Immediately sprinkle on colored sugar, alternating between the three colors.
The official day for Mardi Gras is Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in New Orleans
Mardi Gras—also known as Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, or Carnival—is a debaucherous prelude to Lent, a six-week-long religious fast observed before Easter. The legacy of Mardi Gras can be traced to European Carnival celebrations during the 17th and 18th centuries.
The holiday’s connection to New Orleans… dates back to 1699, when explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville arrived in Louisiana and declared a plot of land “Pointe du Mardi Gras” upon realizing it was the eve of the holiday.
In 1718, the city of New Orleans was established near the area known as “Pointe du Mardi Gras,” and by the 1730s, Mardi Gras parades and masquerade balls became an annual tradition in the southern city.
While Mardi Gras officially takes place on Fat Tuesday—the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent—in New Orleans, annual Mardi Gras festivities start weeks beforehand.
Without a doubt, we will have Mardi Gras 2022,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said at a Carnival season kickoff event on January 6.
While Mardi Gras parades are happening throughout New Orleans in 2022, the routes had to be shortened due to COVID-related staffing shortages..
Find the full 2022 Mardi Gras parade schedule at mardigrasneworleans.com and the route changes at nola.gov
In order to participate in Mardi Gras parades, New Orleans is requiring all members of the city’s parading organizations—known as krewes—to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a recent negative test result.
As of now, viewers won’t need to show proof of vaccination to attend parades. However, city policy does require everyone five years of age and older to show proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or a recent negative PCR, molecular, or antigen test result within 72 hours at indoor restaurants, bars, and entertainment spaces.
Whether you’re in New Orleans are not… we can ALL use another reason to celebrate!!!
So enjoy a Kings Cake… after your Gumbo and Jambalaya!
Eat! Drink! and Be Merry! Just keep the good times rolling!!!
~Evette Dabney
🙌🏽🙌🏽💜💚💛🙌🏽🙌🏽✨
~ Evette Dabney, Founder, Owner, & Creative Director at Sparkle ✨ E✨Entertainment & Promotions.
Evette Dabney is an Emmy nominated TV news talent, SAG-AFTRA actor, writer / blogger, media consultant, and marketing influencer, living in Los Angeles, California.
Evette Dabney has worked on-air in television news and radio in several markets across the country… including South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas and California.
Evette is a graduate of Clark- Atlanta University, and longtime member of National Association of Black Journalists, Association of Black Journalists of Southern California, Women in Film, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and Links Inc.
Follow Evette Dabney/SAG-AFTRA on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Vimeo, Indeed, IMDB Pro, and Actor’s Access. @evettedabney
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The Spirited ✨Socialite is on the move! #Wow!
There she goes again! 👠
Here are photos of several other savory selections featured at this CULINARY AFFAIR ….
Cooking demonstrations are always a great way to learn new recipes… and updated methods to make food prep easier… and More tasty!
There were Grateful House interactive demonstrations… donut decorating 🍩 guacamole making… coffee/ cappuccino tastings…and live entertainment!
~Seasons Eatings ‼️
Evette Dabney, Founder, CEO and Creative Director of Sparkle-“E” Entertainment & Promotions
👇🏽This #strawberry 🍓shrimp 🍤 #ceviche was a big hit! Every serving included tiny tubes of citrus infusion…. that added a wonderful burst of flavor! 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽
This is a fun affair! The city skyline is magnificent at night! 
The mood of the festival is always upbeat! EVERYONE is always in great spirits! Celebrity D.J’s are pumping out beats… Festival goers eat well… and I’m always THRILLED 😁 to see people having such a good time! 
How about a REALLY pretty dessert??? Mango… passion fruit praline, coconut … chocolate and a vanilla marshmallow topping….
The LA Food and wine festival is now in it’s 8th year…
Sparkle-"E" Food 