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!