Tuesday Treat AND Baking for the Firemen: King Cake for Mardi Gras

I figured the firemen deserved a bit of a Mardi Gras treat so I made them a King Cake last week. I vaguely remember these from the time the hubby and I spent in New Orleans when we were still traveling in the fifth wheel; we spent three weeks ahead of Mardi Gras there pre-Katrina. We had a blast! Ate some FANTASTIC food and saw the fun that Mardi Gras would be without the total chaos.


The recipe I used was printed in our local paper, The Missoulian. It was easy and the resulting cake was yummy!


To start the dough you put the following in the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attached. I know, weird but it worked.


1 cup of warm milk, 1/2 a cup of sugar
 the zest of a lemon (I didn't have this and the cake was still delicious) 
4 eggs and two egg yolks at room temperature (I used duck eggs)
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature


Then you add in:


1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt
1 TBS fast acting yeast


Mix that all in and add:


5 - 6 cups all purpose flour (I, of course, used my King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour since that is all I use any more and the cake was moist and the crumb perfect.) You want a somewhat moist dough so don't add all the flour if you don't need to.

Then cover the bowl and let it sit in a warm place, free from draft and rise until doubled. It takes about an hour.

While the dough is rising you make the filling.
Place 1/2 a cup of raisins in a pot with enough water to cover. ( I was making two cakes so that's why it looks like a lot of raisins in the photo.)

Bring the water to a boil and remove from heat. Let the raisins sit for 15 minutes in the water.


In the bowl of your food processor place:


4 oz of cream cheese
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon


When the raisins are ready drain them and pat them dry on a paper towel and add them to the mixture in the food processor. Process until well mixed. (Again, I was making two so I have double the mixture here.)

Toast 1/2 cup of pecans (I had walnuts so I used walnuts) and add them to the mixture in the food processor.

Process until just mixed. Set this aside until you need it.

After the dough has risen take it from the bowl and roll it out to a 22 x 14" rectangle. Spread the filling over the dough leaving a 2" border. 

Roll the dough up tightly into a long log and then place on a greased baking sheet in a circle shape. You can tuck the ends into each other.
Let the dough rise for about an hour until puffy and almost doubled in size. Towards the end of the rising preheat your oven to 350*F







Here is where I RAVE about my new Paderno World Cuisine Silicone Baking Sheets from CSNStores.com I do not know how I have gone so long without these things! 

No more greasing cookie sheets. These babies are FANTASTIC. I just put one on my baking sheet and my baked goods brown up nicely and they clean like a dream. Woo hoo for silicone baking mats!!!!!


Bake the King Cake for 45 to 55 minutes until nice and golden brown. I did brush mine with an egg wash before it went in just because I like the look.

Now you make the glaze; take 3 cups of powdered sugar and 1/4 cup of lemon juice and mix them together.
Drizzle this all over the cake. Then sprinkle the cake with sanding sugars in purple, green and yellow.

The firemen LOVED the cake and the hubby and I devoured the one I made for the two of us. It was divine.
So enjoy Mardi Gras and try a King Cake!