Mardi Gras is upon us! On Tuesday, February 25th, the nation will celebrate Fat Tuesday, but of course, most people have been partying already! It’s a time when everyone can enjoy good times, good drinks, and of course good food. And no other food screams “Mardi Gras!” quite like king cake!

Ah yes, the king cake, that delicious desert dish that reigns supreme over all others during Mardi Gras: a sweet mix between a coffee cake and a French pastry drizzled with icing and colorful sprinkles whose interior often houses a small plastic baby — whoever finds the baby is named king for the day and is custom to host the next party and provide the next king cake.

The only thing richer than king cake is its history!

Supposedly, the original king cake tradition as celebrated by New Orleans was brought over from France in 1870. Each of its colored sprinkles coordinate to different significant values:

• Purple stands for “Justice”
• Green stands for “Faith”
• and Gold stands for “Power”

If you don’t frequent New Orleans or other locations throughout the coastal South, you may not quite understand all the hype surround Mardi Gras and king cake, but rest assured: it’s a big deal.

You may even get a king cake for yourself every Mardi Gras, but have a you ever had a king cake… with shrimp?

Ok, while this recipe from Louisiana Cookin’ may technically call for crawfish, we don’t think there’s anything wrong with substituting the crawfish for delicious wild-caught, American shrimp! The dish may sound strange, but it’s a unique mix of savory and sweet that truly encapsulates the coastal Mardi Gras flavor! And while you’re here, why not check out our Recipes page with sumptuous recipes perfect for Mardi Gras, such as Classic Shrimp Creole or Sugar Cane Wrapped Grilled Shrimp? They’re all sure to get you in the Mardi Gras mood!

Thanks to Manny Randazzo King Cakes for the king cake history!