Happy Mardi Gras!

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez! (Let the good times roll!)  Happy Mardi Gras to all of you.

Unfortunately, there isn't a very big Mardi Gras celebration here in Kansas City, but I'm trying to bring at least a little bit of festivity to my office.  Last year I made a traditional king cake and brought it into work, so I figured I better keep the tradition alive.  This year I decided to make individual king cake "cupcakes" from a recipe I found here.  I haven't tried one yet, but the dough and the filling definitely reminded me of some of the best king cakes I've had.  So I have pretty high hopes for them.  I even found some little plastic babies at Hobby Lobby and hid one in one of the cupcakes.  Usually, the person who gets the baby is responsible for bringing in the next king cake, but since tomorrow is the last day of Mardi Gras, I'll be bringing in a prize for the person who finds the baby.  Last year the prize was a plate of homemade pecan pralines, but this year I didn't feel like putting quite as much time into the prize.  Instead I was able to find a 6-pack of Abita Mardi Gras Bock (Abita beer is a Louisiana favorite).  Hopefully whoever wins enjoys it!  Well, here are a few pictures of the mini king cakes.  Also, if you need a VERY last minute king cake idea I found a pretty neat one at this blog and they look pretty easy and super cute.

Maybe one day I'll get to the point where I post these recipes BEFORE the day that they're made for.  That way if you actually want to make it, you can.  One day...

The mini-cakes prior to being iced.  I think they'd be super delicious by themselves and could probably pass as a breakfast food.  King cake is a breakfast food, right?

Mm mm mm... Cream cheese and cinnamon filling.

See the one in the third row, third from the left?  Can you tell that it's the one with the baby inside?  Well, it is :)