notes from maggie's farm
I'ma be honest here. I'm too darned nervous to write a lengthy post.
I may have alluded to it a few times in this blog, but I'm a big-time college football fan. Tonight, my first alma mater, Louisiana State University, having played a dream of a season, has situated themselves to play for the championship.
I'm pretty excited.
On top of that, last Friday ushered in the Carnival season. It's officially the Mardi Gras season. Traditionally, it's ushered in with a King Cake. So, I whipped up a King Cake.
And we're playing in the Big Easy! An embarrassment of riches, my friends!
Seriously, It was my first time to attempt a King Cake, and while we can get a King Cake from the local grocery most times, I was hoping to approximate more closely the king cake we'd get from Gambino's in Baton Rouge.
Let me be honest. I didn't. Not even close. The flavor was great, but the texture was off. I'm still working on it. I started with this recipe, and added the zest of 2 oranges and 1 lemon to the dough. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. I believe the flour should be reduced, and the baking temperature should be lowered. The glaze needs to be thinner. I think I'll work on the filling, too. We're going to keep working on this during this Mardi Gras season until we get it perfect.
 |
| Did you know? The official Mardi Gras colors were selected in 1872 by the Rex Krewe. Purple represents justice, green, faith, and gold, power. |
(Note: a certain farmer ate an entire cake by himself this weekend, and with crumbs falling onto his shirt, he said with a cake-full mouth 'I don't know what you're talking about. It's great.'. And in all honesty, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't the best. I'm not satisfied. It's back to the drawing board, or the baking stone, as it were.)
I'll keep you posted. And as far as the game...win or lose, it's been over l00 years since the Tigers experienced an undefeated regular season, and that's enough for a King Cake in my opinion. A championship? Well that's just more icing on the
King Cake.
Now, let the game begin!
I'm impressed. I know you said it wasn't the best, but it looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteInteresting about the Mardi Gras colors. I learned something new today:)
Thank you! At least I got the whole construction down...now to tweak it. Mardi Gras is a fascinating time and I look forward to sharing more food and folklore during the season.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading,
Happy New Year!
It's funny I had never celebrated Mardi Gras or the flavors of it until I moved to Texas. My first King Cake was at a church social and then one of my students brought in a king cake from yep you guessed it Gambino's. It was very tasty. I've been making jambalaya ever since. I have to say whether or not your cake tasted like Gambino's it certainly "looked" authentic.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm happy with how it looked, but it's just not RIGHT..lol. I'm going to keep trying and I can't wait to share all these creole dishes I've been noshing on lately. If you happened to catch the game, you know that my cake turned out WAY BETTER than the game. lol
ReplyDelete