King Cake

King cake signals the arrivals of Mardi Gras

Fresh lemon juice enhances the frosting flavor

King cake signals the arrivals of Mardi Gras

Glittering purple, green and gold rows glimmer, catching the eye like sequins on a Mardi Gras mask. King Cake is a Mardi Gras tradition and is just as festive as the Fat Tuesday revelers who celebrate the occasion.

Most versions I’ve seen suggest using biscuit dough, but I decided to try the real thing. The most challenging aspect was coloring all the sugar in separate bags and pouring it onto the icing in alternating rows.

I love the icing for this recipe. It’s simple, yet memorable: confectioner’s sugar, lemon juice (from a fresh lemon) and water. To me the cake is more of a bread in a bundt cake shape.

The flavors are not cloying and are refreshingly tart, with the lemony icing and lemon zest in the cake batter. Most guests who tried a piece were happy with it. A few complained it was not sweet enough, but that’s what I like about it.

You may decide to add a tiny plastic baby or coin. The person who finds the doll is supposed to throw the next party, according to tradition.

King Cake

1 cup warm water

3 tablespoons yeast

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

4 cups flour

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 cup warm milk, at least 2 percent

6 egg yolks

1 stick unsalted butter

For icing:

3 cups confectioner’s sugar

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

5 tablespoons water

For colored sugar:

1/3 cup each of granulated sugar

Divide sugar into three separate Ziplock bags. Experiment with the colors until you achieve the desired hue. I added about 3 drops each of yellow, green and a mixture of blue and red food coloring into each bag. Zip the bag and roll the contents between your hands until lumps are eliminated.

Mix yeast and water in a shallow bowl; allow to rest about 5 minutes. Set the bowl in a warm place for about 10 minutes until the mixture doubles in volume.

Add flour, sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt in a mixing bowl. Combine yeast, milk and egg yolks in the bowl of a mixer. Add dry ingredients; gradually and butter until dough is a soft consistency. Knead dough until it is elastic. Place the dough in a warm area until it doubles, about 2 hours.

Coat a cooking pan with an oil-based spray such as Pam. Punch dough down when it has risen. Roll the dough into a log shape and twist into a circle. Pinch ends to seal the circle.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool about 15 minutes and add icing. Sprinkle colored sugars in alternating rows while the icing is still warm, so the sugar will stick.

Servings: 12.

Fresh lemon juice enhances the frosting flavor

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Posted by admin on Mar 29 2011. Filed under Seasonal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry