BON MARDI GRAS! (retard...that means late in french!)

I was able to introduce the Mardi Gras holiday to Lyle this year. Not that we did anything to celebrate the day, but I did make King Cake!

Here is wikipedia's explanation (doy they know everything):

The king cake of the New Orleans Mardi Gras tradition comes in a number of styles. The most simple, said to be the most traditional, is a ring of twisted bread similar to that used in brioche, also similar to the American cinnamon roll, topped with icing or sugar, usually coloured purple, green, and gold (the traditional Carnival colors) with food colouring. Some varieties have filling inside, the most common being cream cheese followed by praline. Popular bakeries such as Gambino's, Haydel, and Randazzo, feature original recipes and types of king cakes.
The "king cake" takes its name from the Biblical three kings. Catholic tradition states that their journey to Bethlehem took twelve days (the Twelve Days of Christmas), and that they arrived to honor the Christ child on Epiphany. The season for king cake extends from the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Twelfth Night and Epiphany Day), through to Mardi Gras day. Some organizations or groups of friends may have "king cake parties" every week through the Carnival season.

The cakes have a small trinket (often a small plastic baby, sometimes said to represent Baby Jesus) inside, and the person who gets the piece of cake with the trinket has various privileges and obligations.
The person who gets the trinket is declared the King or Queen of the day. Sometimes there are separate cakes to select the males and females; the one for women is sometimes called a Loomis Cake. The king or queen is usually obligated to supply the next king cake or host the next party or both. King cake parties may be held at the homes of people who live on or near the routes of Carnival parades.
It is a common practice in elementary and secondary schools to have king cake parties, usually on a Friday. The person who receives the trinket is required to bring the cake the following week.
In some workplaces, a variation on this tradition is simplified so that workers share a king cake at lunch or during the day, with the person receiving the trinket bringing the cake for the next workday.
Some krewes select their monarchs via king cake.

Fresh out of the oven here

"post" decorated

This is only the 2nd time I’ve made this recipe and the last time it was HUGE. so this time since Lyle doesn’t like anything with any kind of cream in it, I made one small King Cake filled with cream cheese and one small King Cake with cherry pie filling. Both were good, but I got MANY compliment for the cream cheese one. My co-workers LOVED it. Lyle on the other hand is NOT a pastry person, but more so than that, he is nervous of new things that I make. Luckily I don’t get too offended b/c guess what? I liked it and so did everyone else. He is realizing that I like to bake and experiment and sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s not as good, but at least I try right? And for the record, he did say he liked the King Cake. Either way, it is my tradition every year (from now on) to make since Gambinos (the best bakery in New Orleans) isn’t close by.