Recipe: King Cake

Greetings All,

While a number of recipes were requested from the Christmas party last night, by far the most requested was for the King Cake.  Unfortunately some of you did not get any, as it appears I did not make enough.  I will, as promised, post all of the recipes, but here is the one for the King Cake this morning.  King Cakes have become associated in Louisiana with Mardi Gras and they are traditionally only served from the 12th night of Christmas, which is Epiphany on January 6th to Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of the Lenten Season.  You can Google the history of the King Cake to read many different articles, but the main tradition associated with them that we did not have last night is the hiding of a plastic baby, or pecan, or coffee bean in or under the cake.  The person who gets the slice with the trinket is then either king or queen of the party or obligated to either host the next party or bring the King Cake to the next party.  Here is the recipe, enjoy!

Mardi Gras King Cake

This recipe will make one large cake, serving aproximately 35 people with a one inch slice.

Ingredients:
Cake:
2 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast

1/3 c warm water (about 110 degrees F)
6 T butter (or margarine)
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c milk
1 tsp salt
6 c flour (all purpose)
3 eggs
1 T vegetable oil, plus oil for mixing bowl


Filling:
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
3 T flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chilled butter (or margarine)

Icing:
1/3 c evaporated milk
3 T brown sugar
1 1/4 c confectioner sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Colored sugar (green, purple and yellow)

Preparation:
Cake: Begin with shifting the flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl.  Make a well in the middle and set aside.  Next lightly beat the three eggs and set them aside allowing them to warm to room temperature.  Now dissolve the two packages of yeast in the warm water and let stand for ten minutes.  Next melt the butter and the sugar in the milk over a low to medium heat.  Once melted let cool to lukewarm, or at least a temperature that won't burn your hands as you knead the dough. 

With all of this ready, now dump the eggs, the yeast mixture and the milk and butter mixture into the well in the flour.  Using a wooden spoon or your hands mix the ingredients until they form a dough.  You can add flour a little at at time if the mixture is sticky until it is the consistency of dough.  Knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes.  Form it into a ball, grease the surface of it with the oil and then place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, place it some place warm with no drafts and let it rise for about an hour.  The goal is for the dough ball to double in size.

Once risen, punch dough down and roll it out on a lightly floured surface.  Roll it into a rectangle aproximately 10 x 20 inches, this should leave your dough aproximately 1/2 inch thick.  Take your filling, place half of it down on 20 inch side, one inch from the edge.  The filling line should be 1 1/2 inches wide.  Now do the same thing with the other half on the other 20 inch side.  Now roll both 20 inch sides toward the middle of the dough and then using a sharp, not serrated, knife cut the dough down the middle of the two rolls.  Next, pinch the edge of the dough where the two rolled sides meet to seal in the filling, leaving the two ends open.  Repeat for the second roll.  Next cover a cookie sheet with wax paper and then place the two rolls on it.  Join the ends of the two dough rolls to form an oval.  Cover and let the oval rise for aproximately one hour, again the goal is for it to double in size.  Once risen bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Filling:
In a small mixing bowl, shift together the sugar, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon.  Then using a pastry cutter, blend in the butter until the mixture is sort of like a paste.  Set aside until dough has risen.

Icing:
In a small sauce pan, bring the milk and brown sugar to a boil.  Remove from heat and sift in the confectioner sugar, keeping the mixture smooth and the sugar completely dissolved.  Once the powdered sugar is added and the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla.  The mixture should be thin enough that you can either pour it on the cake, or brush it on.  You should only ice about 6 inches of cake at a time, so that as soon as you have iced it you can add the colored sugar before the icing hardens.  Your colored sugar can be made by mixing sugar and food coloring, or you can simply by it at the grocery store.  Once the cake is iced and the icing has hardened a little, place the cake on a board for a lovely presentation and place your baby or pecan under the cake.  It is now ready to eat.  Enjoy!

Your brother in Christ,
Faron