This is what it looked like after it was left to rise, baked and decorated. This one raised a lot and was very light and airy.
This one was filled with cinnamon sugar, raisins, and pecans. If you put a lot of “stuff” in your cake, it won’t rise as much.
You can also use other fillings, such as cream cheese filling, apple pie filling, lemon pie filling, cherry pie filling, etc. But I don’t like those. They turn out too sweet for my taste and the filling overpowers the taste of the cake. I’m a purist and like just a little cinnamon sugar.
So, that’s it. I hope that you all give it a try and bring a bit of New Orleans to wherever you might live. Also, if you ever have the chance to visit New Orleans during Mardi Gras, the city would love to have you. Let me just say that Mardi Gras is not only what you see in the media. Yes, there are some unmentionable things that go on in the French Quarter, but that is a very small piece of what our carnival season is about. Mardi Gras outside of the Quarter is very family oriented. The parade routes are filled with kids and families having fun. When we were little kids, my family did not miss a parade. We loved every minute of it. We would lift Sharon, the youngest, smallest and spryest of all of us, over barricades to get that all-elusive string of beads, trinket or doubloon out of our reach. Police were all over the place supposedly monitoring such infractions, but because she was so cute, the police would just look at her and us, and just shake their heads. We trained her young; you should see how she still scoops up the parade throws.
Happy Mardi Gras!
KING CAKE RECIPE:
(This recipe makes two medium size cakes.)
¼ cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 tablespoon (1 package) dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
5 ¾ to 6 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ cup warm milk (105 to 115 degrees)
1 cup sour cream
3 large eggs
finely grated zest of 1 lemon or orange
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
Cinnamon Sugar:
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Frosting:
4 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
7 tablespoons hot water, more as needed
1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring
1) Pour warm water into small bowl. Sprinkle yeast and a pinch of sugar over the surface. Stir to dissolve and let stand at room temperature until foamy; about 10 minutes.
2) Place 1 ½ cups of the flour, the remaining sugar, and the salt in mixer bowl. Make a well and add the milk, sour cream, eggs, and zest in the center. Beat until smooth on medium-low speed, about 1 minute.
3) Add the yeast mixture and beat for 1 minute more.
4) Stop the machine and add 1 cup more flour. Beat for 1 minute.
5) Add the butter pieces and beat on low speed until incorporated.
6) Add the remaining four, ½ cup at a time, until a soft, smooth dough that just clears the sides of the bowl is formed. Switch to the dough hook when the dough thickens, about two-thirds through adding the flour.
7) When all flour is added, knead with dough hook for about 5 minutes on medium speed. (If you don’t have a dough hook for your mixer, you’ll need to turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5-10 minutes.)
8) Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and just able to hold its own shape, under 1 minute if you used the dough hook (6 to 10 kneads to smooth it out), dusting with flour only 1 tablespoon at a time, just enough to prevent sticking to your hands and the work surface. This dough will be very smooth, with a definite soft elastic quality, a little sticky, but never stiff, and will hold its shape.
9) Place the dough ball in a greased deep container, turn once to grease the top, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until double in bulk, 2 ½ to 3 hours. Do not allow the dough to rise over double.
10) Punch dough down with fist. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Let rest 10 minutes.
11) Divide the dough in half with a bench scraper, pizza cutter or knife, never tearing the dough.
12) Divide each half into thirds. Roll out to a rectangle approx. 20 x 12 inches.
14) Roll up and pinch ends together so filling does not ooze out. Flatten pinched edge.
15) Twist two long rolled pieces together. Form into a circle and fold edges under.
16) You can insert baby trinket into cake at this point or wait until after it is baked. (I like to wait after it is baked if it is plastic.) Insert from underneath. (If you don’t have a baby trinket, use a whole pecan, walnut or other object; just be careful it is big enough that it cannot be swallowed whole.)
17) Cover with greased plastic wrap or light cloth towels and let rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
18) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 20-25 minutes. An instant-read thermometer will read 195 to 200 degrees.
19) Let cakes completely cool.
20) To prepare frosting, mix melted butter, powdered sugar and flavoring; add hot water 1 Tablespoon at a time until glaze reaches desired spreading consistency. You don’t want this too thin because it will run right off the cake or too thick because it won’t drip down the side of the cake.
21) Pour frosting over cake; sprinkle with purple, green and gold colored sprinkles or colored sugar.
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NOTE: GIVE-AWAY HAS ENDED!
Sharon again here. WOW! Was that great or what? Thanks Sis for showing me up on my own blog. Damn overachiever. (Just kidding.) But seriously, I have been trying to convince Barb for months now to start her own food blog. She is a good cook, and photography has been a hobby of hers for a long time. What do you guys think? If you think she needs to start her own blog, leave a note in the comment section below this entry and you will automatically be entered into a drawing for a free give-away of these!!!!....
Don't get too overly excited. They are just cheap plastic. But hey they are free! And fun! And FREE! Make sure you leave an email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win. I will draw the winner's name February 26th.
Then you can pretend you are down here with us having a great time while you sip your Mardi Gras martinis.
Mardi Gras Martini:
This festive concoction will add color to your celebration and your cheeks. To make purple sugar, add a few drops of red and blue food coloring to granulated sugar and mix. Rim glasses with a cut lemon and dredge in colored sugar, add a lemon twist and enjoy this purple, green and gold treat.
2 ounces vodka
1 ounce triple sec
1 drop creme de menthe dark
Lemon twist, optional
In a martini shaker, combine vodka, triple sec and creme de menthe with ice and shake until well chilled. Strain into a martini glass, preferably one rimmed with purple sugar. Garnish with a lemon twist. (*from acj.com)
Happy Mardi Gras Everyone!
Sharon
