Here in Ireland, Mardi Gras (aka Shrove Tuesday) is known for being pancake Tuesday. Pancakes are suddenly the “it” thing, and every where you go, pancakes (sweet and savory) are served.

Where I’m from, however, we have King Cake and a big party. After 5 years in Ireland – I was craving king cake. So, I went online and found a recipe for a braided king cake. I started out by making the dough, layering the cinnamon sugar paste, then rolling it up, then stretching it into long tubes. From there, it was braided:

It went in the oven for 35 minutes, and while it was baking, I mixed up some simple glaze of powdered sugar, a dash of water, and food coloring to make “gold”, “green”, and Violet.

when it was done baking, it had risen quite a bit – and looked and smelled fabulous:

Finally, when the cake was cool, I drizzled it with the colored glaze – added a piece of candy for the “prize” and wrapped it up – all set to take to work.

The guys? Well, they seemed to like it. Especially Bill, who got the candy – and is king for the day.

Happy Mardi Gras, y’all! Laissez les bons temps rouler!!

PS. If you want to learn more about the history of King Cake, please go here.