King Cake is the ultimate treat for Mardi Gras. I got this recipe from Fabulous Foods. It’s a lot of work, and it’s a bit of a fuss if you’ve never made yeast-based bread before, but it’s so worth it.
Cake:
Egg Wash:
Coloured Sugars:
Icing:
Combine the flour, sugar, nutmeg, salt, and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the lemon zest.
Form a hole in the middle of the mixture and add in milk and egg yolks. Use a wooden spoon to combine the dry ingredients into the mixture, then beat in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough can be formed into a medium-soft ball.
Place the ball of dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead like bread. During the kneading, add up to 1 cup more of flour, sprinkled over the dough 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is no longer sticky.
Once the dough isn’t sticky, knead around 10 minutes more until the dough is shiny and elastic.
Coat the inside of a large bowl evenly with butter, and place the dough ball into the bowl, turning it until the entire surface of the dough is buttered.
Cover the bowl with a moderately thick tea towel, and set in a warm spot for around an hour and a half, or until the dough doubles in volume.
While you’re waiting, grease up a large baking sheet, and prepare the coloured sugars.
Pour one tablespoon into each plastic bag. In one bag, drop in 2 drops of yellow food colouring. In another bag, drop in 2 drops of yellow food colouring and 2 drops of blue food colouring. In the final bag, drop in 2 drops of blue food colouring and 2 drops of red food colouring. Tie knots in all the bags and shake them until the colours blended into the sugar. Set the bags aside and wait.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place on the lightly floured surface. Punch the dough down heavily, knead it for a bit, and then break the dough into three sections, forming each into cylinders. Sprinkle each cylinder with part of the teaspoon of cinnamon, and then braid the cylinders together. Loop the braid onto the buttered baking sheet, pinching the ends together to complete the circle, and cover with the towel.
Set the dough aside in a warm space for 45 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 195º Celsius (375° Fahrenheit), and wait for the dough to double in volume.
Once the dough has doubled, lightly mix a tablespoon of milk with an egg, and brush the top and the sides of the cake with the mixture.
Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown. When done, place the cake on a wire rack to cool.
While the cake is cooling, if you have a small plastic baby (like so), pop it somewhere in the cake.
Once the cake is cool, put it into a container, and prepare the icing. Mix together the icing sugar, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons of water until smooth. If the icing is too stiff to pour, then add another tablespoon of water until it is thick, but pourable. Pour the icing over the cake, making sure to coat it nicely. If the icing runs to the bottom, just spoon it up and pour it on the cake again.
Take the three bags of coloured sugar and cut off a corner off of each. Sprinkle the sugar on the cake in thirds — one-third green, one-third purple, one-third gold.
Cut into sections, eat, and enjoy. Whoever gets the section with the baby has to make the next one!
Feb 12, 11:21 AM |
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Easily amused 30-something Southern Californian now living in Nottingham.
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