February 5, 2005

Savor a taste of Fat Tuesday

Story courtesy of the Rankin Ledger

By Jason S. Hooper
jhooper@rankinledger.com

King cakes can bring the feel of Mardi Gras to any party, and Rankin Countians don't have to travel far to get a fresh one.

Three Sisters and a Mixer in Flowood and Pelahatchie-based ABC Caterers and Cafe are making the cinnamony sweet, oval confections available just in time for Mardi Gras on Tuesday.

Traditionally, the green, gold, and purple-colored cakes contain a hidden baby figurine. The baby represents the infant Jesus, and the cake represents the wise men who brought gifts to him. Whoever gets the piece with the baby is king or queen of the party and brings a king cake to the next gathering.

What makes king cake fun is "the thrill of whether or not you'll get the baby," said Brett Ashy, co-owner of ABC. He and co-owner Virgil Salvo recently made the decision to add the cakes to their repertoire. Ashy grew up in the New Orleans area where nearly everyone celebrates the season with king cakes, he said.

ABC and Three Sisters are helping the Mardi Gras fever spread north to Rankin County.

"I don't like people having to to go New Orleans to get a good king cake," said Paul Moore the "mixer" of Three Sisters and a Mixer bakery. Moore said the bakery plans to make 1,000 king cakes for the Mardi Gras season.

The bakery has sold more than 200 since it began offering them Jan. 24 and recently filled an order for 35 of the cakes for River Oaks Hospital System.

Emily Myers, spokesperson for River Oaks, said the cakes were ordered for the hospital's monthly employee appreciation event. Each month's party has a theme, and February's is Mardi Gras this year. "King cake gets people into the spirit," she said.

Last year's employee appreciation event theme was Valentine's Day, but the year before was Mardi Gras, featuring king cake from Paul's Pastries in Picayune, a bakery that provides online ordering and nationwide shipping.

But this year, king cakes are available right down the street. Myers said the hospital wanted to support a local baker and decided to use Three Sisters.

For those who want just a taste of Mardi Gras, ABC is offering king cake by the slice on its menu.

Three Sisters' Andrea Moore takes baking king cakes seriously. Amid the angry rattle of the dough mixer and the hum of a rotary oven, she spent about 14 hours Tuesday baking nothing but king cakes.

The bakery uses its own recipe for the cakes, and the process is far from quick or easy. A batch of six king cakes takes up to four hours to produce, six pounds of flour, a pound of butter, six extra-large eggs and a ton of patience.

First, the yeast dough must be mixed and allowed to rise in a machine called the proofer. Then Andrea stretches it and cuts it into two pieces. Each piece will make one cake. After slicing the dough, she said it "has to rest after the shock of being cut."

She rolls the dough with a favorite rolling pin and spreads a standard cinnamon and cream cheese filling. According to the order, she might mix it up with pecans, strawberries — anything the customer wants.

The dough is rolled into a tube and then into a ring. After another trip to the proofer, it's into the oven where the cake bakes until it's a golden brown.

The cake comes out to cool. Once it is a suitable temperature, Andrea slathers it with a generous helping of white, creamy icing. Then, green, gold, and purple sugars cascade onto the icing, shaken from a cup of each color. She said no two cakes come out exactly the same.

Andrea places green and purple Mardi Gras beads and a tiny plastic baby on the bottom of the carton within the ring of the cake.

Paul said that they couldn't hide the baby within the cake because of liability issues. But customers can put in the baby if they choose.

Andrea said the word has been getting out that the bakery makes the cakes. But some sales come from people just stopping by.

Channell McBeath purchased a king cake on the spot Tuesday evening for a work meeting. "I saw it, and I thought it would be interesting. I'm wondering who's going to get the baby," she said.