How to Decorate King Cakes

King cakes are THE dessert during the Mardi Gras season in Louisiana. Thousands of cakes are decorated and eaten during the festive season.

If you can’t make it to Mardi Gras you can still participate in the King Cake tradition by decorating your very own King Cake.

The King Cake season starts on Twelfth Night (12 nights after Christmas) and represents the three kings who brought gifts to baby Jesus.

King Cakes have always held a bit of mystery for me. Growing up in the midwest the most I knew about King Cakes was they were served during Mardi Gras and had a small plastic baby Jesus in them.

I didn’t know anything about the significance of the colors or the traditions.

The baby Jesus is inserted into the cake prior to icing it. Simply push the plastic doll into the cake anywhere you choose.

Now, you would think that finding the baby Jesus in your piece of cake would be a good thing.

However, that means that you have to furnish the King Cake for the next party, which is generally held each Sunday until Fat Tuesday.

There is not any special icing techniques. Just spread the icing over the top of the cake.

Once it’s frosted add the colored sugars to the top. Many King Cakes use purple, gold and green for the colors. Each color is significant and represents justice (purple), faith (green), and power (gold).

Sprinkle the colored sugars on top of the cake in any order or design you like. After the sprinkles have been added drape Mardi Gras beads on top of the cake.

Ta-da…you are done. Invite your family and friends over for a fun Mardi Gras celebration and serve your fabulous King Cake!

Thanks to the Lake Charles CVB for the King Cake decorating lesson.