(I Just Can’t Wait to Be) King Cake!
King Cake: a welcomed addition in any kitchen, just like hospitality!
FoodFam, it’s Mardi Gras! Don your purple, green and gold, pass around some beads and laissez les bon temps rouler!
It may be a very different Mardi Gras in 2021, but you can’t keep the bon temps out of New Orleans: homes are being turned into ‘house floats’, the Sazerac remains one of the finest cocktails in existence and King Cakes are still the most exciting dessert* to ever come out of The Big Easy!
New Orleans means a great deal to my family: it’s the city where both of my parents went to medical school and where they owned their first home together. My first taste of this incredible city was when I spent time in college rebuilding homes that had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. It was an incredibly intense time and I spent most of my days on the highest rung of a ladder looking over the remains of the Lower 9th Ward. I started to recognize when I was the visitor in a city or in a room and to let others set the rhythm of the conversation.
I returned almost exactly two years ago from this posting, this time with my parents, and we visited their favorite haunts: the French Quarter where my Mum once had an apartment and could saunter over to Cafe du Monde for beignets and lattes; the music halls where my Dad “really learned” what jazz really was even after studying music for years; the hospital they both dedicated every waking moment to that now sits in disrepair. We drove by their very first home together that was somehow spared from the water and the winds.
Purple, green and gold for NOLA.
New Orleans is a very special city, and the King Cake is a very special dessert/bread/anytime snack food in this house! That being said, I have found more versions of this recipe in the last week than I ever thought possible: some insist on brown sugar, others demand cinnamon, some are filled with cream cheese and others resemble a basic pound cake. The most important aspect of a King Cake is that you hide a tiny charm (or a less charming plastic baby) inside the cake and whomever gets the slice with the fève, or charm, is the royal for the day! And then they need to bring the King Cake to the next party! Victory is sweet-ish!
The King Cake is commonly attributed as a round Western European cake with a hidden token for the lucky winner and enjoyed during the period between Epiphany (the “12 Days of/after Christmas”) and the period immediately preceding Lent. The season of Mardi Gras is celebrated for weeks in New Orleans and commemorates Shrove/Fat Tuesday from Christian tradition when the best foods, drinks and indulgences would be enjoyed the day before Ash Wednesday which marked the beginning of Lent and the season of penance and fasting.
King Cakes from Northern France are very different and are more commonly known as a Galette de Rois, or Pithivier, and made with puff pastry and frangipane. This variation of a King Cake is, well, Americanized, meaning that I researched several recipes and decided that Mardi Gras 2021 needed all the butter and fats that I could find. This King Cake contains a healthy dose of yeast and butter, and is both filled and covered in sweet + tangy cream cheese icing. In true Bourbon Street fashion, she is covered in purple, green and gold!
Pass a good time, FoodFam!
*My next NOLA cooking adventure will be beignets. Typically, if it’s not from Cafe du Monde, I’m not interested, but as it’s going to be a bit of a wait until my return to the French Quarter, I am going to tackle these in my very own kitchen. Stay tuned, FoodFam!
King Cake goes fast due to its deliciousness and everyone’s excitement to find out who got the fève!
King Cake (a variation on American Cinnamon Rolls)
DOUGH:
¾ cup warm milk
2 ¼ teaspoons quick rise or active yeast (this is one 1/4-ounce yeast package)
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
¼ cup unsalted butter (½ stick), melted
3 cups bread flour + plus more for dusting
3/4 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons neutral oil for proofing your dough
FILLING:
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup unsalted butter (½ stick), softened
FILLING/GLAZE:
4 oz cream cheese (½ a standard brick), softened
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Purple, green and gold sprinkles
Warm your milk in the microwave for 35-45 seconds, making sure to pause midway to make sure it does not scald. Transfer to your electric mixer bowl fixed with your dough hook and add your sugar and yeast. Turn your mixer on low for 10 seconds or use a spatula to incorporate your mixture so that your yeast is fully immersed in both the milk and sugar. Let sit for 3-5 minutes until you see your yeast begin to bubble and react. Add your egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix on low for about 30 seconds or until combined. Add your flour and salt, mixing on low until a dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.
Dough with 1/3-1/2 cream cheese filling and cinnamon sugar mixture.
Increase the speed of your mixer to medium and knead your dough for about 8 minutes. Your dough should form a smooth ball and be slightly sticky. If it is really sticking to the bottom of your mixer, add 1 tablespoon of flour and mix until incorporated and your dough is no longer sticking.
Using a bowl that is large enough for your dough to more than double in size, add 2-3 tablespoons of neutral oil and spread evenly throughout the inside with a spatula or paper towel. Add your dough and cover the top securely with a piece of food service film. Your dough will double its size in 60-90 minutes depending on the humidity in your home. Store your bowl in a place to utilize the heat and humidity without rushing the proofing. It is ok for it to take 90 minutes for your dough to double in size.
Cream cheese filling and icing, making everything more delicious.
While your dough is proofing, make your cream cheese filling and icing: using the whisk attachment on your electric mixer, combine your cream cheese and softened butter and whip on medium high for 2-3 minutes until your spread is creamy and fluffy. This could take longer if your ingredients are cold from the refrigerator. Add your powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Half of this mixture will be spread on your dough and half will be spread on your baked cake.
TSP: Because I didn’t have purple sprinkles, I spooned some of my cream cheese icing into a seperate bowl and added red and blue food coloring to make a royal purple.
Once your dough has doubled, transfer to a well-floured surface and roll out into a 14x9 inch rectangle. Spread your softened butter and ⅓-½ of your cream cheese spread onto the dough.
In a small bowl, mix together your brown sugar and cinnamon. Use your hands to sprinkle evenly over your dough and press so that your cinnamon sugar sticks to the butter and cream cheese before you begin to roll.
King Cake, baked, pre-icing and pre-sprinkles.
Prepare a pan with nonstick spray or a silicone baking sheet. To get this ring shape, I used a bundt pan and snaked my dough inside following these instructions but you can also form your circle by hand: starting from the short end of your dough, tightly roll and transfer to your pan so that the seam side is facing down. Make a circle with your dough and join each end, using your fingers to press and seal your dough together. You can cover this part with icing later! Cover loosely with food service film for 30-45 minutes.
Icing is the #1 most delicious dessert glue.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Remove your plastic wrap and bake for 10 minutes before rotating your pan and return to the oven for only 8-9 additional minutes. Remove from the oven when the outside is just slightly golden and a toothpick can be removed cleanly from the center of your dough. Cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes before spreading your remaining cream cheese icing on the top of your dough ring. Top with purple, green and gold sprinkles (and any colored icings you may have made) and serve hot with a cup of chicory coffee!
Laissez les bon temps rouler, FoodFam!
Purple, green and gold- the Mardi Gras trifecta!
