In the blinding sun, “Cajun/Creole: A Little’ Lagniappe, Cher,” a creole cooking class had a king cake festival where students had a chance to find a lucky plastic baby in one of their slices.

Students carried plastic plates and utensils to enjoy the festival outdoors and get a slice of king cake, which is made from dough that has a blend of coffee and cinnamon flavors. The dessert is braided and covered in yellow, green and purple icing. 

Ms. Kristen Boor, Upper School history and social sciences teacher, carried a boudin-stuffed sausage cake, while a student was given the king cake that contained the plastic baby, which is a sign of good luck. By tradition, the person who finds the baby gets to buy the next cake. 

Sophomore Shelby Ryan was not even hungry enough to eat her cake.

”I honestly wasn’t in the mood for king cake,” Ryan said after she discovered that she had the baby in her slice of the cake. She said after many king cakes in the past, this was the first she found the plastic baby and she might try to honor the tradition of buying the next king cake. 

“If I feel like it,” she said, before giving it to sophomore Ginnie Filippone who was sitting next to her.

Her tablemates sophomore Ellie Bynam and Filippone said they have a sweet tooth and they were raised around cooking. Bynam said her family was always cooking and Filippone said her mother was a caterer.

“Some of the perks of catering gourmet food is you get to keep gourmet leftovers,” Filippone said 

Every student had a slice of cake and most seemed to enjoy this classic piece of Creole culture. The students also partook in a sausage cake to experiment with both a sweet and savory treat.