A few days ago, I shared how we celebrate the Mardi Gras over here in the Netherlands. I asked Jeff Young, the Catholic Foodie, how they celebrate over in Louisiana since Mardi Gras is a big thing in New Orleans.

According to Wikipedia, the tradition of baking King Cakes for Mardi Gras goes back hundreds of years:

In the southern United States, the tradition was brought to the area by colonists from France and Spain and is associated with Carnival (also known as Mardi Gras). Celebrated across the Gulf Coast region from the Florida Panhandle to East Texas, it originated in French Louisiana and King cake parties in New Orleans are documented back to the eighteenth century.

The king cake of the Louisiana tradition comes in a number of styles. The most simple, said to be the most traditional, is a ring of twisted cinnamon roll-style bread topped with icing or sugar, usually colored purple, green, and gold (the traditional Mardi Gras colors) with food coloring.

Jeff kindly shared a King Cake recipe on his blog for you to try out. He also dedicated an entire podcast to Mardi Gras, giving some background information.

Click on the player to listen to Catholic Foodie 129: King Cake and Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Find more episodes of his podcast and many more recipes on his website, The Catholic Foodie.