Mardi Gras 2015 {King Cake Bread Pudding and Children's Mardi Gras}

This year’s King Cake was going to be a jelly roll style cake in purple, green, and gold.

Only I still haven't gotten past my fear of making a jelly roll cake.
So that doesn't really work out too well.

Alternate plan: King Cake Bread Pudding.

Bread pudding has long been a way to use leftover/stale bread.

Only there’s no such thing as leftover King Cake.

If there is, you're doing something wrong.
So that’s not really going to work out too well either.

No King Cake leftovers to turn into bread pudding.
But I wanted my bread pudding to taste like a King Cake.

So...King Cake Vodka.
Making my King Cake Bread Pudding a reality.

I had plenty of stale French bread, hamburger, and hot dog buns.  The custard was infused with King Cake Vodka, cinnamon, and hints of lemon to give that traditional King Cake taste.

A powdered sugar glaze went on top, along with the colored sugars found on a King Cake.

It tasted like a real King Cake, but was much easier and quicker to make.
(Recipe Below)

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I run Cajun Mardi Gras with the Basile Mardi Gras Association.  The Sunday before Mardi Gras, they host a Children's Run for kids up to 16 years old.

Here's my Mardi Gras

Performing  La Chanson de Mardi Gras (the Mardi Gras Song) before starting the run

All the boys ready to head out

Colorful costumes on a foggy day

Begging like a Mardi Gras should

And catching a chicken--every Mardi Gras' wish for the day

While the adults who run Mardi Gras are fueled by liquid courage, these kids are hopped up on doughnuts.



Print It!

King Cake Bread Pudding

For bread pudding:
8-9 cups cubed stale bread
3 cups milk
1/2 cup King Cake Vodka
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 heaping tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Whisk together milk, vodka, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and lemon zest in a large bowl.  Fold in the bread cubes.  Pour into an 8 x 8 oven safe dish.  Bake for about 45 minutes.  The bread pudding is ready when a butter knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow pudding to cool before decorating or the colored sugar will melt.

For glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp King Cake Vodka

Add the powdered sugar to a bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of King Cake Vodka.  Add more vodka, a little at a time, until the glaze is a thick but pourable consistency.

For colored sugar:
(can be made ahead)
¾ cup granulated sugar, divided in thirds
purple food coloring, or red and blue
green food coloring
yellow food coloring

Divide the sugar into three plastic bags.  Add 3-4 drops of yellow food coloring to one bag.  Knead the color into the sugar. Repeat with green food coloring. For purple, I like to use purple food paste to get a rich purple color. Red and blue food coloring can also be used.


Once the bread pudding has cooled, drizzle the powdered sugar glaze over the top.  Decorate with the purple, green, and gold sugars.

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