The Carnival Season in New Orleans commences on January 6, or Twelfth Night, and concludes at Midnight of Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), which is February 16th this year. The first seasonal King Cake is baked for Twelfth Night parties and the first parade rolls on the St. Charles Streetcar lines in Uptown New Orleans. Originally an uncooked dry bean, but more recently a small plastic baby figure is inserted into the bottom of the baked cake. The lucky person who finds the “baby” in their slice of cake is crowned “king or queen” for the day. The traditional Carnival colors of purple, green and gold (yellow) are depicted in tinted sugar on the top of cake.

This traditional King Cake recipe goes back to before the 1980’s and is a classic. It will yield 1 average 12 to 14-inch ring of King Cake. In the restaurant I would make a much larger batch that would yield 6 King Cakes this size. The size will also increase a bit with the addition of a filling. This is typically a small sized King Cake, however, in the bakeries and stores you have a choice of small, medium or large cakes available. Extra large King Cakes have been known to be made on special orders, but for very large parties it is customary to order a number of them to fulfill the crowds.

King Cake Dough

If preparing in advance allow the icing and tinted sugars to set up a bit then cover with a plastic bag or plastic wrap. Typically a King Cake can last 2-3 days un-refrigerated.

Note On Fillings: If filling the cake you will want to have your filling prepared prior to the step where you are twisting the dough. In fact, for filled King Cake dough’s I will roll the dough out similar to cinnamon roll or Danish dough style, instead of the cylinder shape as described above. Then I will sprinkle more cinnamon sugar and then add the filling. Then the dough will get rolled up around the filling jelly roll style. Then the filled dough is added to the baking sheet pan and looped into the circle and pinched before the second rising and baking stages. Typical fillings include sweetened and softened cream cheese, cherry pie filling, blueberry pie filling, lemon filling, custard filling, and my favorite is a double chocolate chocolate cake filling. Typically any pie or doughnut filling will work, you are only limited by your imagination.

Here is a typical cream cheese and fruit filling recipe:

Twelfth Night Starts Mardi Gras Season

The first parade in New Orleans tonight is the krewe affectionately known as the Phunny Phorty Phellows with their annual 12th Night Streetcar Parade starts and ends at Beauregard Circle, at N. Carrollton Ave. near City Park and travels down Carrollton to Canal Street, turning at St. Charles Avenue, continuing to Napoleon Avenue where it turns and retraces its route to Lee Circle, Carondelet Street, Canal and Carrollton. The maskers will assemble on the neutral ground, 6:30 Sun., and board the streetcar at 7.

The Krewe of Alla hosts the first parade of the season, 1 p.m. Sun. in downtown Gretna, in addition to its traditional parade on Jan. 27, featuring 10 floats, including one from Grela, and marching bands. It begins at the base of the Crescent City Connection at Franklin Street, travels down Franklin, turns right at Stumpf Boulevard, left at Fifth Street, left at Lafayette Street, right at the West Bank Expressway and right at Huey P. Long Avenue, concluding at the end of Huey P. Long in downtown Gretna.

The Krewe of Claude begins their parade at Salmen High School off Pontchartrain Drive, ending at the Midtown Square shopping center off Gause Boulevard, Slidell and features krewe floats, a Sweet 16 float, and units including the Moss Point, Miss., High School band, St. Mary’s Academy New Orleans band, Salmen High School color guard and band, the Baby Dolls dance team, Galloway’s dance team and the Northshore Classic Car Club, 1 p.m. Sun.

Mystic Krewe of Satyricon hosts its 12th Night Ball at the Country Club, 624 Louisa St. The 6th annual gala benefits the krewe’s Carnival ball and features an open buffet, cash bar, silent auction and music by a deejay, 7-11 p.m. Sat. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Dress is cocktail attire. Call 525-4498.

A King Cake Kick Off Party will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church, 438 Oliver St., Algiers Point. Food, King Cake, German beer and entertainment by Benny Grunch and the Bunch, noon Sun. Call 368-0411.

Benny Grunch and the Bunch headline Mid City Lanes Rock and Bowl’s annual Twelfth Night celebration Sunday. The Bunch is enjoying their busy season and are now gearing up for Carnival. If you haven’t seen the band, they specialize in what only can be described as a very home town, lyrically influenced, “Weird Al” type of show.