Wednesday, February 25, 2009

King Cake

Last year, I learned of King Cake for Mardi Gras, hunted up a recipe, and loved it. So, this year, once again, we (sort of) celebrated Mardi Gras. No clowns, no parade, no beads, just King Cake. Here is the recipe from last year, and here are pictures of the work in progress.

Warm the milk, add the yeast, then the flour and all of the other ingredients in the mixer bowl. Notes: This won't fit in a breadmaker, and, if you're using a hand mixer, add the flour in increments.
Mix at the lowest speed for 5 to 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and beautiful.
Let it sit on the counter for a few minutes.

Roll out to about 2 feet long. Really! It will take that much length to fill the tube pan, which you of course have already greased. Let the dough rest while you prepare the filling.
Spread the filling on the dough with a spoon or spatula.

Roll it up and fit it in the pan.

Let it rise until it fills the pan.

Bake until it's beautiful!
When it's cooled, glaze and sprinkle the top with colorful sugar, or even sprinkles. This is a lot of cake.

And these individual "work in progress" pictures are a lot of work. I'm not sure I'll do this again real soon!

12 comments:

Unknown said...

You are funny, but so right, remembering to snap photos of the progress takes a lot of brain power and extra work. Gotta make sure the cupboards are clean and uncluttered and that you remembered to wash the flour off your hands. You would think that since I started blogging and taking photos of everything that I would keep my house tidier. :) g

Anonymous said...

YOU ARE SO GOOD! I have wanted to remember to make one of these every year...Good job.

Paula said...

LOVE IT! And love the step by step photos. They are a lot of work, aren't they? I always seem to forget to snap a picture of a critical step! I really like the photo of the filling. This beautiful cake sure would be a great reward for all that hard work! Now ... did you eat a piece?

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Wow do did a fantastic job Marjie. A King Cake is no easy task!

Pam said...

That is one big cake! I am sure it tasted as good as it looks.

Anette said...

Great pictures!
And lovely cake! I wouldn't have said no to a generous piece and a cup of tea, can I come over?

SissySees said...

Next year, I'm gonna' make my own King Cake instead of begging some from a friend.

Anonymous said...

Great tutorial! I make something similar in a loaf form.

Christo Gonzales said...

so cool!

Peter M said...

Fat Tuesday is but a memory, as I'm sure this cake is too!

Anonymous said...

What a great King's cake :>)

buffalodick said...

Did you hide the toy in the cake? Doesn't look like you did!