Over the holidays, you may have caught my Cinnamon Roll recipe. Now that it's Mardi Gras, we'll take that same recipe, tweak it a bit, and turn it into a King Cake!
Ingredients:
Dough:
- 5 1/2 Cups Flour
- 1 Tbsp Yeast
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs (room temperature)
- 1/3 Cup Melted Butter
- 1 Cup Milk (Warmed to 115 Degrees)
Filling:
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Cinnamon
- 1 Stick of Butter (Almost Melted)
- 1/2 Cup Whipping Cream (Poured When Rolls Go In The Oven)
Frosting:
- 6 oz Cream Cheese (Softened)
- 1/3 Cup Butter (Softened)
- 1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla
Warm your milk to 115 degrees. Pour the yeast over the top, and add a pinch of your sugar. Let that sit for a few minutes so it starts bubbling.
Pour the yeast mixture to the bottom of your mixing bowl. Add the eggs, butter, salt, and sugar and turn on the mixer. If you don't have a mixer, just stir well.
Start adding the flour a cup at a time. Continue to add the flour while mixing. Use all but a cup of flour. You'll incorporate that later when your kneading the dough. Once the ingredients are mixed together, turn the mixer off for about five minutes and let it sit and absorb all of the wet ingredients.
After the rest, you can turn the mixer back on and add the rest of the flour. Let the mixer, with the dough hook, continue running for 5-7 minutes. If you prefer to knead the dough by hand, use the remaining flour to dust your surface and knead for 5-7 minutes, using the rest of the flour. If the dough is too sticky, you can add flour, a tablespoon at a time. When finished, you want to the dough to be moist, but not tacky.
Put a little vegetable oil at the bottom of a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl, and coat it with the oil by flipping it over. Cover the bowl, and put it in a warm place to rise for about 45 minutes. The dough will nearly double in size.
While the dough is rising, you can make the filling. Take 1 Cup of Brown Sugar, 1/4 cup of sugar, a stick of butter (almost melted) and 2 Tbsp of Cinnamon. Mix well and set aside.
When the dough is done rising, flour your surface again and use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a rectangle. Try to get it down to 1/2 inch thickness. This should give you a rectangle about 12x24 inches.
Spread your filling evenly across your dough. Try to get it all the way to the edges. Split the dough into three pieces, and roll each piece long-ways.
Then braid the three rolls taking the outside roll and putting it over the middle. Then alternate left and right, always going over the middle.Sha
Shape your braided dough into a ring like a King Cake. I like to put it on a parchment paper covered baking sheet, but cooking spray works too.
Cover it and let it proof in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until it's doubled in size. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Take a half cup of whipping cream and warm it in the microwave until it's just warm to the touch. Spread that all over the ring. Don't worry about what spills onto the cookie sheet, that will eventually bake into some good stuff.
Bake it in the over for about 20-25 minutes. If you have an instant read thermometer, cook it until the center is about 190 degrees. While your king cake is baking, make the frosting. Divide it into three bowls, and use your food coloring to make your purple, green, and gold! After your King Cake cools, you can spoon it on, or pipe it. Whatever is easiest. Have a Happy Mardi Gras and enjoy some delicious King Cake!
