Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) King Cake

Mardi Gras season is synonymous with King Cake Season. The King Cake tradition is thought to have been brought to New Orleans from France in 1870.

A King Cake is an oval-shaped cake to mimic the crown of a king. It is decorated in royal colors of PURPLE which signifies “Justice,” GREEN for “Faith,” and GOLD for “Power.”

In the past, such things as coins, beans, pecans, or peas were also hidden in each King Cake. Today, a tiny plastic baby is the common prize. Each person looks to see if their piece contains the “baby.” If so, then that person is named “King” for a day and bound by custom to host the next party and provide the King Cake.

If you are Catholic, like me, the day after Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday is a day of fast and abstinence and the beginning of the Lenten season. This is a time when Catholics make a promise to sacrifice or give up something (oftentimes a favorite food) until the forty days of Lent are over—on Easter Sunday. I can remember many years, as a child, sacrificing chocolate for forty days, waiting in anticipation of Easter Sunday when I could dive into the giant chocolate rabbit waiting for me in my Easter basket. Oh, those were the days—-I ate so much Easter chocolate on that glorious Sunday, that I would be sick for a week and vow to never eat a piece of it again!

I always use Mardi Gras as an excuse to bake something decadent and this King Cake definitely fits the bill. Make sure you set aside the time to prepare this recipe, as it takes about four hours from start to finish, with two hours to prove the dough and a second proofing after you have prepared the round cakes. Also, I opted for a light glaze, using food coloring gel, which I added to the confectioner’s sugar icing. . I chose to let the flavors of the bread and filling take the forefront to a heavy icing or sugaring that is often used to decorate the cake. Enjoy your Fat Tuesday treat and as they say in Cajun French– “Laissez les bons temps rouler!” (Let the good times roll!)

INGREDIENTS

recipe yields 16 servings and two cakes

PASTRY:

1 cup milk

¼ cup butter

2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast

⅔ cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

½ cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

5 ½ cups all-purpose flour

FILLING:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

⅔ cup chopped pecans

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup raisins

½ cup melted butter

FROSTING:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS

Step 1 Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Step 2 When the yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Step 3 Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.

Step 4 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Step 5 To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup raisins. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.

Step 6 Roll dough halves out into large rectangles (approximately 10×16 inches or so). Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of each roll together to form 2 oval-shaped rings. Place each ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Step 7 Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Push the doll into the bottom of the cake. Frost while warm with the confectioners’ sugar blended with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.

COOK’S NOTE:

Make sure to buy a new small plastic baby so you can get the full effect from this cake! Sprinkle with purple, green and gold sugar, or decorate with whole pecans and candied cherries. Note: Be sure to tell everyone to inspect their piece of cake before they begin eating it. To be extra careful, use a plastic toy baby that is too large to swallow, or hide an orange wedge or 3-4 pecan halves inside the cake (avoid items that may hurt someone’s teeth) and then simply place the honorable toy baby outside on the top of the cake for all to see and adore!