I have a former medical director who did his residency at Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans. He introduced us to a yummy sweet treat, Mardi Gras King Cake! YUM! It is a sweet cinnamon dough, sort of like a Cinnabon roll but not sticky. Then an icing of powdered sugar, water and a little lemon juice. Then granulated sugar, colored yellow, purple and green for Mardi Gras. He told us that in New Orleans, they hide a tiny plastic baby in the cake, and the person who gets the piece with the baby will have good luck for the year. I'm going to try making one for the gang at work but without the baby.

I saw this recipe on the Web... it's like the Chicago version of king cake (source: blog.nola.com)---

1 can refrigerated cinnamon rolls, with icing

Purple, green and gold sugars

Separate the cinnamon rolls and roll them out by hand so each looks like a hot dog. Pinch together into a ring. Shape the roll into an oval, pinch the ends together, and place on a cookie sheet. Cook as directed.

Ice the tops with the white icing and sprinkle with the sugars, alternating as you go around the oval.


I wish I had time to make a sweet dough. Should have done it yesterday.