King Cake - Baby Fail

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Janet H

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So yesterday I made a King Cake to kick off the beginning of carnival season. I took a major short cut and used Rhodes bread dough. Rolled out and covered with butter, folded, rolled again and more butter, sugar and cinnamon. BUT this cake traditionally has a plastic baby buried inside and I had no good ideas for a substitute. So for next time, I need ideas... what could be used instead? Something noticeable but edible would be nice... DH has suggested a carefully carved brazil nut. Any better ideas? I'm not much of a carver....
 
So yesterday I made a King Cake to kick off the beginning of carnival season. I took a major short cut and used Rhodes bread dough. Rolled out and covered with butter, folded, rolled again and more butter, sugar and cinnamon. BUT this cake traditionally has a plastic baby buried inside and I had no good ideas for a substitute. So for next time, I need ideas... what could be used instead? Something noticeable but edible would be nice... DH has suggested a carefully carved brazil nut. Any better ideas? I'm not much of a carver....

Do you have a party store nearby Janet? I bet they have little plastic babies for baby showers. Someplace like Michaels might have something too.
 
I agree with Katie, coins, dried beans or even a half of a walnut, a pecan or an almond.

How about a piece of dried fruit or a maraschino cherry.

I like the idea of sticking with an edible item that won't destroy teeth or dental work! :ermm::ohmy::LOL:
 
A piece of colorful hard candy, a chunk of dried pineapple wrapped in some plastic wrap. I've had King cake with a coin wrapped in plastic wrap. A dried apricot, a pitless prune. A wrapped caramel.

You'd probably want something that whoever gets the prize can actually show it to others, before being chewed...
 
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It would seem you could find some tiny plastic trinkets at a craft store or party store that would fill the bill.
 
Oh fer Pete's sake. We are overlawyered, aren't we?

Though I've got a broken molar from an old maid in a bag of movie theater popcorn. I didn't sue the theater...
 
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Lawyers don't file lawsuits by themselves. There has to be a plaintiff.

I wouldn't put something inedible into a cake. One of the bakeries in that article uses chocolate-covered almonds.
 
Lawyers don't file lawsuits by themselves. There has to be a plaintiff.

I wouldn't put something inedible into a cake. One of the bakeries in that article uses chocolate-covered almonds.

Good idea.

...or jordan almonds. The coating won't melt off during baking.
 
Apparently some of the bakeries put the charms in after the cake is baked. The French cakes are different - more like a croissant - so a hole wouldn't show.
 
Some great ideas here... I am basically opposed to putting inedible stuff in a cake but love the jordan almond idea and the dried apricot would work well.

I have a good friend who is a transplant from NOLA and made the King Cake for her but perfecting the real deal is on my bucket list. The Rhodes bread version just isn't quite right....
 
I heard of a clean, shiny coin being substituted or a large dried bean. I have a supply of the babies that I put in our King cakes.
We sometime put coins into Christmas puddings for luck. They are usually wrapped in baking foil as for health reasons. The fact that the amount of sugar in a portion of C/pudd will probably kill you before the coin poisons you seems to be passed over:rolleyes:
 

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