New Orleans-Style King Cake

by Faith Durand

New Orleans-Style King Cake Recipe

King cakes have always bemused me. They must be the most garish, hideously colored thing in the baker's repertoire. Green, purple and yellow? Really? And yet king cakes are a cherished Mardi Gras tradition. Last year I decided to try my hand at this paint-splattered cake for the first time.

For help I turned to "Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans," edited by Marcelle Bienvenu and Judy Walker, who both work on the food section at The Times Picayune. A recipe for king cake similar to this was published in the paper back in 2003, and it has been a popular version. I've modified the instructions on cutting and fitting the dough on the baking sheet.

Once I tasted the finished product, I decided that this king cake had to become a tradition in my household, too. It's absolutely delicious. It might look like a giant cartoon of a Homer Simpson-style donut, but underneath it's an oversized cinnamon roll spackled with creamy, almond-flavored icing and sprinkles. There are flaky layers of rich yeast dough, with a crust of cinnamon sugar on the bottom and gooey filling in between. It's a sugar bomb, and it's ridiculously good.

In fact, I may switch to this dough when making cinnamon rolls. It's tender, a little flaky, and fragrant -- not to mention easy to work with. It's also pretty simple to put the cake together. So if you're looking for something fun to serve or bring to a Mardi Gras party, king cake is your ticket.

Note that the recipe calls for a bean or pecan half or small baby figurine to be placed in the dough (or finished cake). This is an old tradition that goes back to the "galette des rois" the French serve at the Feast of the Epiphany. By tradition, whoever finds the bean or trinket in their piece of cake must supply the next one.

Get the book: "Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans," edited by Marcelle Bienvenu and Judy Walker.

King Cake Recipe

Prep Time: 1 Hour 30 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Yield: Makes 1 large coffeecake-sized ring

King Cake Ingredients

1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 F)

1 envelope active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm milk (105 to 115 F)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or margarine, softened

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

For the King Cake Cinnamon Filling:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 red bean, pecan half or small plastic baby figurine, optional

Fot the King Cake Frosting:

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Purple, green, and yellow paste food coloring (or other colors depending upon the occasion)

King Cake Recipe Instructions

For the King Cake Dough:

Pour the warm water into a large warmed bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and stir until it dissolves. Stir in the warm milk, butter, sugar, nutmeg and salt. Add 1 cup of the flour and blend well. Stir in the eggs and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Lightly flour a flat work surface, and turn out the dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, adding more flour if the dough sticks. (Note: You can also do this in a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook, which is what I did. I still kneaded it for about 5 minutes, though. If doing it all by hand, knead for at least 10 minutes.)

Put in a large greased bowl, and turn to grease the top of the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

For the filling:

Punch the dough down. Transfer to the lightly floured work surface and use a rolling pin to roll into a 30-by-9-inch rectangle. Brush with the melted butter. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Beginning at the long end, roll up tightly, as for a jellyroll. Pinch the seam to seal.

This gives you a 30-inch jellyroll. With a sharp knife, cut this in half crosswise, giving you two 15-inch rolls. Now butterfly cut these rolls lengthwise. Lay the rolls cut side up so the filling is visible, and form them into semicircles. Join the semicircles at the ends, pinching the dough, to create one large ring. Transfer the ring to a large greased baking sheet.

If using a red bean or pecan half, push it into the underside of the dough to hide it. (A baby charm will go in after baking.) Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 20 to 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Remove the cake from the baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack. If using a plastic baby figurine, push it into the underside of the cake.

For the frosting:

In a small bowl mix together the sugar, almond extract and milk until smooth. Divide among three smaller bowls. Tint one mixture purple, the second one green, and the third one gold, mixing each one well. Drizzle each color over the top of the cake.

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King Cake Recipe - New Orleans-Style Recipes

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