King Cake

Mardi Gras is such a colorful holiday and what better way to celebrate than with a King Cake.

King Cake

Serves 16

Pastry Ingredients
1 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 (0.25 oz) packages active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling Ingredients
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Frosting/Topping Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp water
gold, purple and green sanding sugar

Directions
Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
 
When the yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
 
Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.
 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
 
To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup raisins. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.
 
Roll dough halves out into large rectangles (approximately 10x16 inches). Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of each roll together to form 2 oval shaped rings. Place each ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1-inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
 
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Frost while warm with powdered sugar that has been mixed with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Dust with sanding sugar.
 
Optional: After the cake is done baking, you can choose to push a plastic baby through the bottom of the cake. The person who gets the slice with the baby will buy or make the cake for next year's celebration. :)
 
Photo courtesy of Taste for Adventure by Tablespoon
Recipe courtesy of Jo