What you Will, Shakespeare that is!

Today is a holiday in Finland, loppiainen. Shops and banks are closed and the trains are running on a Sunday schedule. We arrived in Turku during the Christmas holiday and realized that normal schedules did not resume until after loppiainen. Loppiainen, the Finnish term for the day of Epiphany refers to the "end" of Christmas time or loppu.

Here loppiainen will pass unnoticed by many. Christmas trees are already out on the curb and tinsel has been boxed up for another season.

Epiphany comes from a Greek word for manifestation referring to the actual manifestation of God in the baby Jesus. It is traditionally believed to be the day the 3 kings or magi arrived to worship the child. Rushing from one holiday to another, Epiphany is also a kick off day for Mardi Gras. No reason to stop overeating yet.

I will celebrate Loppiainen at the traditional Christmas choir white elephant gift swap and my pot luck will be a king cake from the Frugal Feasts blog:

King Cake

1 package frozen bread dough, defrosted

6 tablespoons butter, softened

⅔ cup sugar mixed with three tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 small plastic baby (see note)

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup heavy cream

purple, green and gold sanding sugar (see note)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough out into a long rectangle, 6 inches wide by 18 inches long. Smear with the butter, leaving a ½ inch plain border around the edge. Sprinkle liberally with the cinnamon sugar.

Bring the two long sides of the dough together so that they meet in the middle in a long seam. Wet the edge with a little water and press together to seal. Place on greased cookie sheet and arrange in a loose oval, seam-side down. Pinch the ends together to seal.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped. Cool completely.

Make a small slit in the bottom of the cake and stuff the plastic baby into the slit.

Place the powdered sugar in a bowl and slowly add enough cream to make a thick frosting. Spread on the cooled cake. Decorate with the three colored sugars.

Note: Plastic babies and colored sugars are available at Chandler's Cake and Candy Supply at 7 Perley St. in Concord, 223-0393.

And, we must not forget the play Twelfth Night, subtitled What you Will!