A few years ago I came across this recipe from Sucre, a famous bakery in New Orleans and all I can say is WOW.  I think I made 5 of them the first year, which is overkill and not good for anyone's curves.  I did share though and everybody felt the same way I did about this masterpiece.  
So without further ado......
 
Sucré's King Cake has been voted "A Favorite" by the Times Picayune 2012 King Cake Contest and 2011 "BEST" King Cake by a Washington Post blind taste test. Sucre's signature buttery danish pastry is sweetened by cinnamon and raw cane sugar then folded with a light layer of creole cream cheese.
Dough

•  2/3 cup whole milk
• 5 tablespoons sugar, divided 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast 
• 2 large eggs, room temperature 
• 2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature, plus 1/2 tablespoon, melted

Combine flour, sugar, salt, yeast and milk in a mixing bowl and mix on low speed till it comes together. As dough comes together, add 1 egg at a time then add butter gradually. Continue to mix at medium speed till smooth and elastic. Do not over-mix.
Place in a clean bowl and wrap with plastic wrap, keep at room temperature and allow to double in size. When doubled, "punch down" to deflate, and wrap again to allow to rise again. At this point, make the cream cheese filling.
Filling

• 8oz cream cheese (1 pack)
• 1ea egg yolk
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• zest of 1 lemon
• Combine all ingredients and mix till smooth. Will be divided on 2 pieces of dough.
• Assembly

Roll dough to an even rectangle about ¼" thick. Cut into 2 lengthwise and pipe or spoon cream cheese filling on the upper 1/3 of each piece. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (1/2 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon cinnamon) evenly. Roll each piece into a log and twist them together to form a braid. Shape into a ring sealing the ends well.

Proof to double in size and bake in preheated oven at 360°F for approximately 20-25 minutes or till golden brown on the bottom surface. If top is golden brown and bottom is still not baked, cover the top with foil and turn oven down to 325°F. Allow to cool before glazing.

Glaze

• 2 cups powder sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients till smooth and coat top of cooled cake. Allow glaze to dry before serving. Serves 8-10 people.  
Recipe courtesy of:
Sucré
3930 Euphrosine Street
New Orleans, LA 70125
www.shopsucre.com
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Even seasoned travelers do dumb things. If I'm honest, I'm guilty of some of these so let's run through this and see how well you do.

Taking pictures of everything.
If you take pictures of  everything you see on vacation, you're missing out. Live in the moment, take it all in and not from the other side of your camera lens. Who needs 25 different shots of the Eiffel Tower? And look at the time you've spent taking them. I'm guessing the people you're traveling with don't appreciate it either. Take your picture and put the camera down.

Eating only what you eat at home
Okay, I'll never eat Vegemite no matter how many times I go to Australia. But I'll try the local specialty if it just looks and smells good. Eating a Burger King on the Champs Elysees was not an unforgettable experience, but having fresh made pasta with sea urchin in Sorrento was. . You've already spent a fortune to fly miles away from your favorite diner, so give the wienerschnitzel a try.  If you don't like it, there's a story.

Breaking the law
Once a taxi driver in Rome made 3 stops on the way to the airport to deliver a package, get gas and pick up an envelope and kept the meter running the whole time. When we finally got to the airport we paid him what we thought we owed him not what was on the meter and started walking into the terminal. He called a policeman over and after giving him our side of the story the officer told us to catch our flight. If the police hadn't seen it our way, we would have paid the driver in a New York minute rather than miss our flight and get in a "principal of the thing"  argument. Obey the laws, don't take a chance on missing a minute of your vacation defendinig your right to start an argument, or driving too fast. Being an American abroad, you've already got one strike against you.

Expecting every shop to take credit cards
A lot of people will tell you that  plastic is accepted everywhere. Well let me tell you it isn't. In some places it isn't even practical. Shops have to pay fees to take credit cards and often you get a better deal if you pay cash. I'm not talking about a big item, if you're buying a crystal chandelier in the Czech Republic, ONLY pay with a credit card. But if you're buying puka shell necklaces in Thailand bring cash. Part B  Don't assume everyone wants US dollars. In some cases it costs a lot to exchange them for the local currency and for a small amount it may not be worth it. You're in a foreign country, carry some local cash. 

Complaining about how different everything is
Don't go to Switzerland if you're traveling with a limited budget. It's expensive. Don't complain about being ripped off if you left a tip AND THEN found out the tip was included in the bill. Pay attention. If you're planning a night of clubbing, ask the locals when things get going, it might be midnight before the party starts. We know it's not like this at home, that's why we travel. When in doubt ask at the front desk of your hotel, it can save you some grief. 

Being Oblivious
Ever been in Amsterdam where riding a bicycle is a real form of transportation? Watch where you're going and don't stop suddenly. If everyone in the crosswalk is running, my advice to you, start running too. Follow the lead when you're out exploring a new place. It's much safer. Oh, and forgo that perfect picture taken from the middle of the street. 

Britain and Ireland are hard at work making the most of their heritage and sharing it with a special flair. Here are a few updates to keep in mind for 2016:
London seems intent on building itself out of any economic recession in its ever-changing landscape of sights. Be sure to have locals point out the many distinct skyscrapers decorating the skyline; Londoners have given them clever descriptive nicknames, such as the Gherkin, the Cheese Grater and the Walkie-Talkie. New buildings generally come with a dramatic viewpoint open to the public. The One New Change shopping center, just east of St. Paul's Cathedral, has a public park-like space on the roof terrace, with great views of the church. And the towering London Hilton on Park Lane skyscraper has an unforgettable viewpoint lounge on the 28th floor.
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London's Tate Modern art museum is expanding with a new wing that will double the exhibition space. It has been opening gradually in advance of its official debut in June. At the Orbit, London's Eiffel-Tower-like landmark built for the 2012 Olympics, workers are constructing the world's longest, tallest tunnel slide -- slated to open this spring. But there are closures too: The wine-tasting experience Vinopolis has poured its last glass. At the British Library, the Magna Carta may be off display.

​Technology is also changing how you visit Britain. You can now avoid ticket lines at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral by booking in advance via their websites. Stonehenge visitors are required to book a timed-entry ticket online.

In Brighton -- a beach resort town directly south of London -- the i360 Tower, set to open this summer, will lift tourists 450 feet in a doughnut-shaped elevator for a bird's-eye view of the city.

In Bath, the Building of Bath Collection is now called the Museum of Bath Architecture. The Roman Baths have added a display of the Beau Street Hoard -- more than 17,500 Roman coins that were discovered near the baths.

In the Cotswolds, the delightful Keith Harding's World of Mechanical Music in Northleach is now called the Mechanical Music Museum (after Harding's death and subsequent scandalous revelations in the media about him).

Nearby, in Stratford-upon-Avon, the town is marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. The Royal Shakespeare Company's Swan Theatre has opened after a total renovation. New Place and Nash's House, showcasing what's left of one of the houses in which Shakespeare lived, is set to open this spring.

In the South Lake District, the Beatrix Potter Gallery in Hawkshead will host a special exhibit opening in February to mark the 150th anniversary of Potter's birth.

Restoration work continues in the ancient city of York. Its Theatre Royal recently reopened after completing a $6 million renovation. Work continues on the Great East Window in the York Minster. The massive, tennis-court-sized window filling the east end of the beloved church may finally be unveiled in 2017.

At Durham Cathedral -- England's greatest Norman church -- the new "Open Treasure" exhibit will display a number of treasures, including a copy of the Magna Carta from 1216 and items from the Norman/medieval period (when the monks of Durham busily copied manuscripts), the Reformation, and the 17th century.

Over in Wales, at Caernarfon Castle, the Eagle Tower now houses the "Princes of Wales" exhibit -- featuring a chessboard of Welsh and English princes as life-size chess pieces -- and a skimpy exhibit on the life of Eleanor of Castile, wife of King Edward I.

In Ireland, Dublin is preparing for the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Uprising -- so this year expect higher lodging prices, longer lines and more traffic snarls. Among events planned, the General Post Office -- the rebel's headquarters -- will host a "GPO: Witness History" exhibition, and the National Library and Kilmainham Gaol will host temporary exhibits. (For a good prep, be sure to watch the documentary, "1916 The Irish Rebellion," which debuts on American Public Television in March.)

Also in Dublin, look for a new Museum of Tenement Life to open sometime in 2016 (though it may be called the 14 Henrietta Street Townhouse Museum instead). And at the Book of Kells exhibit in the Trinity Old Library, purchasing an online ticket in advance allows you to skip the line at the entrance. In another sign of changing times, ferries no longer run from Dun Laoghaire (near Dublin) to the UK.

In Belfast, a new Discovery Tour, part of the Titanic Belfast museum, explains the striking design and architecture of the new building and the adjacent slipways where the ship was built. In Derry, the Museum of Free Derry is closed for renovations but should reopen in May with multimedia exhibits.

And for foodies filling their tanks to enjoy all this sightseeing fun, Britain and Ireland continue to reshape their culinary images and astound travelers with new restaurants and gastropubs serving delicious food.

by Rick Steves and Tribune Content Agency, January 19, 2015
(Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at rick@ricksteves.comand follow his blog on Facebook.)
Republished from The Dossier Jan. 19, 2016