Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day/Pancake Tuesday, Paczki Day, Mardi Gras: no matter what you call it, for many Christians yesterday was a day of public celebration.

There was a time when Lent was a 40 day fast and meant abstaining from meat, eggs and all dairy products.  Thrifty cooks used up all these items up before Ash Wednesday.  While most people no longer observe strict fasting, the holiday foods of our childhood remain an integral part of the pre-lenten celebration.

This year I thought I would spend some time and adapt my great grandmother's paczki recipe, but instead I tried something different.  I decided I would try using OrgraN Easy Bake Gluten Free Bread Mix and adapt the mix to resemble a traditional Mardi Gras King cake.

The mix calls for baking the bread in a loaf pan, but I choose to use a Kaiser - La Forme Braided Ringmold pan. This pan not only produces the necessary round traditional ring shape but also gives the illusion that the dough has been braided - an impossibility for gluten free mixes. 

I made the mix using the conventional baking directions and put the sticky batter in a well greased pan.  With well greased hands, I distributed the batter as evenly as possible in the pan.  Here is where I deviated from the directions.  I mixed 2 tablespoons softened butter, 1/4 cup sugar , 3/4 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 C white raisins.  I sprinkled the mixture on top of the batter and pinched the batter closed over the filling.  Then I went back to the directions and set the pan in a warm area to rise for 15 minutes.  I baked it for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.  After cooling only 5 minutes, I removed the cake from the pan.

I don't care for the purple and gold decorator sugars which adorn most King cakes, so I made a simple glaze from confectionery sugar, lemon extract and water.  The "cake" was eagerly consumed after waiting 20 minutes as the directions recommend.  I think my father would have preferred paczki, but that didn't stop anyone from eating this cake-like bread mix.