Before moving down to the South I had no experience celebrating Mardi Gras. I had to do a little research to find out that Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday. As with many holidays, this celebration involves eating rich, fatty foods (not allowed during Lent), so research for gluten-free options for the most well-known sweets associated with the carnival, King Cake and the Paczki, was in order.
A King Cake is a cinnamon-roll type cake that is traditionally covered with icing and Mardi Gras colors on the top. There is also a baby that is either inside or underneath the cake. The person who gets the baby in their piece is said to have good luck.
If you are local to Georgia, then you are in luck because Magnolia Manor Sweets makes a gluten-free king cake. There are also two companies who make and ship them:
- Lilah’s Deli and Bakery – has a gluten-free king cake with 15 flavors options that comes with the history of the king cake, a baby and beads.
- Rheinland Bakery – has a 12″ ring cake that comes filled with either cream cheese or cinnamon filling. It also comes complete with the baby and beads.
Here are some recipes for making your own gluten-free king cake:
- King Cake from Jules Gluten Free
- Johanna’s 52 Sweets King Cake that is also dairy/casein free
- King Cake Cookies from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
Paczki Day is the Polish celebration of Mardi Gras, which falls on the last Thursday before Lent. A paczki is a fist-sized fried doughnut with filling, so basically a jelly doughnut that is usually covered in powdered sugar. Celiac Specialties makes a gluten-free version of a paczki with apple, lemon, raspberry, and custard filling.
If you want to make your own:
- About.com has a great roundup of gluten-free paczki recipes
- Pittsburgh’s Gluten-Free Examiner offers a recipe for gluten-free paczki
- Gluten Free Adelaide shares her gluten-free paczki recipe
About.com also has a great collection of gluten-free Fat Tuesday recipes.
Just a little bit of research and you too can enjoy Fat Tuesday in gluten-free style!
Article Courtesy: Jennifer Harris
Just a heads up…the King Cake from Lilah's Deli and Bakery is NOT gluten-free…I called to order it, and double checked…it's definitely not.