Laissez les bontemps roulez! That is, let the good times roll… because today is Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday,” when New Orleans fills up with parades, masks, beads and—yum—king cake. Really an iced bread, traditional king cake was originally created to use up flour that would become forbidden after Lent. Lucky for us, we can all enjoy it now. But have you ever thought of making one in a bread machine? All the fun and festiveness with a lot less work! If you don’t already have a bread maker, check out three top rated machines:
Photo by Molly Yeh, Food52
This baby turns out two-pound loaves, and is consistently rated best for its clever heating element inside the lid, which creates golden-brown perfection without burning. Pick your crust shade, and let the machine do the kneading.
This simplified maker (fewer settings, but just as fast) takes less counter space than the Virtuoso and makes one-pound loaves, which incidentally means you can’t do more than one pound of dietary damage.
It can express-bake bread in under an hour, has nine settings, and is a comparative bargain at under $70.
Don’t forget the icing: purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power. Sweet!
Got a great Mardi Gras recipe? Share it in the comments!