These Decadent Desserts Will Help You Party Like It's Mardi Gras
It's Fat Tuesday! What should you eat for dessert? In honor of Mardi Gras, you need a special New Orleans recipe like bread pudding with whiskey sauce, bananas Foster, or some sugar-coated beignets.
Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday marks the end of Carnival season in New Orleans. It's the last celebration, the finale of all the music, parades, floats, and fun. Then comes Ash Wednesday and the penitential season of Lent that lasts for 40 days. Mardi Gras is the big holiday before the fasting and celebrated as such in the Crescent City. Revelers wear costumes or at least dress in purple, green, and gold, and adorn themselves with long bead necklaces they catch from the floats as they go by. If you're not in New Orleans but want to capture some of the spirit of the day, there's no better way than to end an indulgent meal than with a Mardi Gras dessert. To that end, we've gathered some classics and some classics with a twist, all are rich and flavorful, just like the Big Easy!
It doesn't come more Fat Tuesday than bread pudding. This sweet eggy creation is often served with a whisky sauce. Martha's recipe does it a little different—there's a bourbon glaze, and gets a little fancy, serving it in individual dishes. Another iconic New Orleans dessert is Banana's Foster; ripe bananas, vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, and a rum flambé is certainly a way to celebrate the end of Carnival! The layer cake pictured here takes the flavors and turns them into a banana-buttermilk cake with whipped cream filling and a flambéed banana topping. Or try something different and decadent, our Banana's Foster Milkshake reinterprets the dessert as a milkshake, one so epic you'll need a straw, a spoon, and a dish to consume it!
No matter which of our Mardi Gras dessert recipes you chose, spoonful by spoonful it will transport you to New Orleans.
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Bananas Foster Split
This is our take on the sweet boozy dessert first served at famed New Orleans restaurant Brennan's in the 1950s. The bananas are cooked in a buttery brown-sugar sauce, doused in dark rum, and flamed just before serving—with a scoop of ice cream, of course!
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Grasshopper
Did you know this classic after-dinner drink originated in New Orleans? The minty, creamy dessert cocktail is just the thing for a boozy holiday like Mardi Gras.
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Mini Bourbon Bread Puddings
When it comes to Big Easy sweets, nothing beats bread pudding. Our individual-sized version is studded with golden raisins and finished with an irresistible bourbon glaze.
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Bananas Foster Milkshake
We've remixed the classic dessert into a knockout sweet-and-salty milkshake. You're going to need a straw, bowl, and spoon to enjoy this properly.
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Beignets
A New Orleans classic, these cousins to the doughnut consist of fried pieces of yeast dough dusted with plenty of confectioner's sugar. A fresh batch is the perfect way to start or end the day.
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Southern Sour-Cream Pralines
We can't get enough of this traditional Louisiana confection that transforms toasted pecans into a sugary, fudge-like candy. Our version also calls for sour cream, which gives the treats an exceptionally smooth texture.
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Brown-Butter Bourbon Pecan Pie
If the residents of the Crescent City had to pick their favorite pie, chances are it would be pecan. This decadent take enhances the classic with brown butter and bourbon.
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Chocolate-Chicory Logs
In New Orleans, ground chicory is blended with coffee beans, a tradition that dates back to the Civil War era when supplies were limited. Here, the bitter flavor of chicory pairs perfectly with the sweet chocolate in these biscotti-like cookies.
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Pecan Sea-Salt Drops
For a different take on pralines, try these drops. There's no cream or butter—the nuts are simply suspended in a delicious soft caramel.
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Pain Perdu
Vanilla bean and hazelnut liqueur set our version of this French toast-bread pudding hybrid apart. Serve it for breakfast or dessert—it's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser at any time of day.
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Cajun Popcorn
Craving something salty? This sweet-spicy popcorn can be whipped up in a jiffy.
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Praline Cookies
Make a batch of creamy pecan praline candy to take simple drop cookies to the next level. They'll be the first to go at your Mardi Gras party.
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Crepes Suzette
A boozy French classic that's much loved in New Orleans, these dessert crepes are made with dark beer in the batter and Grand Marnier in the filling and the sauce.
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King Cake
After all, what's a Fat Tuesday celebration without king cake? This sweet yeast bread has a colorful glaze in the colors of Mardi Gras—and as tradition demands, a tiny plastic baby hidden inside.