
While I have never been to the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, I do enjoy making special treats for my family. Since Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, coincides with Taste of Home Tuesday I went looking for an appropriate recipe. I found Mardi Gras cupcakes.
Mardi Gras is the celebration of Carnival which begins on Epiphany or Three Kings Day (January 6) and ends the day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras translates to Fat Tuesday but the day is also known as Shrove Tuesday in some parts of the world, such as England. The color scheme of purple, green and gold was chosen in 1892 with purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power.
Since we are trying to pare back our sweets, I decided to make mini-cupcakes and take them to the office at school. Of course a few remained at home for after school treats.
As I mentioned this recipe is from Taste of Home. I made a few changes to my version. The original recipe calls for 3 flavors of gelatin, lemon, lime and grape, which are also the colors of Mardi Gras. Although grape is not a flavor my family likes, I just didn’t feel the combination was appealing. The idea is to not only flavor the cupcakes but to color them. You could achieve this with food coloring. The original recipe also makes 24 regular sized cupcakes.
Surprise your family with these cupcakes as an after-school treat or dessert. If you’re looking for more Mardi Gras treats check out Easy Mini King Cake Bites or Mardi Gras Monkey Bread.

Festive Mardi Gras Cupcakes in a mini version for the office, a class party or other celebration. You can make 24 regular cupcakes. Just bake for about 18 - 20 minutes. Adapted from www.tasteofhome.com
Mardi Gras Cupcakes - Mini Version
Ingredients
Instructions
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Patty says
It would be a fun surprise to take the first bite and see color. The cream cheese icing would be good too!
Amy | Amy's Cooking Adventures says
The recipe sounds delicious and the decoration is so pretty!