Fat Tuesday! Mardi Gras King Cake Recipe - Stand Mixer-Free
In honor of Mardi Gras, this king cake recipe will help you celebrate, bayou-style. Soft and sweet, this bready treat is covered with a sweet glaze and colored sugar.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Creole
Prep Time 2hours
Cook Time 25minutes
Total Time 2hours25minutes
Servings 8servings
Calories 514kcal
Author Stephanie Stiavetti
Ingredients
1envelope active, dry yeast
2tablespoonwarm water
1teaspoonkosher salt
4tablespoonswhite sugar
1scant teaspoonlemon zestchopped fine
2teaspoonsground cinnamondivided in half
1/4teaspoonground cayenne
1/3cupwhole milkat room temperature
2largeeggsbeaten well
2cupsflour
1stickcold buttercut into small chunks
Non-stick cooking spray
1cupwalnut pieces
1/2cupbrown sugar
1teaspoonvanilla
3tablespoonsagave nectaror honey
Egg wash: 1 eggbeaten with 2 tablespoons of water
1small plastic baby trinket(do not bake the baby in the cake!)
1 1/2cupspowdered sugar
1/2teaspoonvanilla extract
1/2teaspoonlemon juice
1tablespoonwater
Colored sugar or sprinkles in the following colors: purplegreen, and gold/yellow
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine yeast and warm water. Stir and let sit for 10 minutes, or until foamy.
Add the salt, sugar, lemon zest, half of the cinnamon, cayenne, and milk to a small bowl and stir until combined. Once the sugar has dissolved, pour the milk mixture into the yeast, mixing well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until they are incorporated. Add the flour in quarters until it is all mixed in and you've got a sticky dough.
Now’s where you get your hands dirty! Stick your hands into the bowl and knead the dough for 10 minutes, until it is elastic and not nearly as sticky as it was when you started. Add the cubed butter and knead it into the dough, acting quickly so that as little of it melts as possible. You’ll likely have a big, buttery mess on your hands – that’s fine. Just make sure the butter is well incorporated into the dough. Form the dough into a ball.
Lightly spray down a clean bowl with non-stick cooking spray. Add the dough ball, rolling it around so that it’s completely coated with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm room for 1 hour. The dough should double in size. After an hour has passed, punch down the dough and cover again with a kitchen towel. Place in the refrigerator overnight to rise again.
Once the dough has risen a second time, preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and set a large piece of parchment into a large baking sheet. Make the filling by combining the walnuts, brown sugar, vanilla, agave nectar, and remaining cinnamon. Mix well.
Cover the counter with flour and roll out the cold dough into a rectangle of about 10 inches by 20 inches. Spread the filling over the rectangle of dough, leaving 1-inch of clean space around the long edges. Starting from the long edge, tightly roll up the dough into a jellyroll-like log, making sure the seam is on the bottom. Join the ends of the roll, making a ring. Wet your fingers with a little water to help the ends stick together – you can gently massage the dough from one end over the other for a more seamless king cake.
Very carefully move the ring to the parchment-covered baking sheet, reforming it as necessary so it’s still very round. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for 45 minutes. Once the dough has doubled in size again, use a soft pastry brush to brush the whole surface with egg wash, making sure not to use so much that it pools around the bottom of the dough. Slide the king cake into the oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Do not over bake or it will dry out! Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before moving on to the next step.
From the underside of the cake, push the small plastic baby into the cake so that it is hidden inside. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and half of the water. Mix until you've got a thick glaze, adding a few drops of water until it’s the right consistency. If the glaze is too runny, add more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
Drizzle the cooled king cake with a generous amount of glaze, then sprinkle with colored sugar or sprinkled in a wedge pattern, like the photo above. Slice and enjoy – but first decide what happens to the person who get the slice with the Baby Jesus inside!