King Cake

Mardi Gras (translated: Fat Tuesday) is a holiday equivalent to our Shrove Tuesday. While our tables are laden with greasy and sweet doughnuts, pancakes, and fritters, in New Orleans, they traditionally serve King Cake on this day.

Details

  • Preparation Time: 205 minutes
  • Cooking Time: 37 minutes
  • Difficulty: 3
  • Spiciness: 0
  • Number of Servings: 12

Ingredients

Dough

  • 235 ml Milk, whole milk

  • 55 g Butter, unsalted

  • 14 g Yeast, dry

  • 100 g Sugar, white

  • 160 ml Water

  • 2 piece Egg, fresh

  • 1 teaspoon Salt, table

  • 1 pinch Spices, nutmeg, ground

  • 690 g Flour, Wheat, bread flour

Filling

  • 220 g Sugar, brown

  • 1 teaspoon Spices, cinnamon, ground

  • 75 g Walnuts

  • 60 g Flour, Wheat, bread flour

  • 70 g Raisins

  • 115 g Butter, unsalted

Glaze

  • 120 g Sugar, white

  • 15 ml Water

Steps

  1. Pour the milk into a small pot, place it on the stove, and heat it. Remove the pot with the warm milk from the heat and stir in the chopped butter, then let the mixture cool to room temperature. Place the yeast and a tablespoon of sugar in a large bowl, add warm water, and mix until the yeast dissolves. Let the yeast rise for 10 minutes.

  2. Mix the milk and butter into the yeast, then whisk in the eggs. Add the remaining white sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Gradually, one cup at a time, mix in the flour. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead until it becomes elastic and no longer sticks to your hands or the surface, which takes about 8 to 10 minutes.

  3. Shape the dough into a ball. Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough inside. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let the dough double in size, which takes about 2 hours.

  4. Grease a baking pan or line it with parchment paper. Sort and wash the raisins. Place the butter in a small pot and melt it over moderate heat. Prepare the filling: in a bowl, mix brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon, flour, raisins, and melted butter.

  5. Punch down the risen dough and divide it into two parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into two rectangles measuring 25 x 40 cm. Evenly sprinkle the filling over both rectangles and roll them up. Start rolling from the wider side. Seal the rolls to form two circles and place them on the baking pan.

  6. Use scissors to make 1/3 deep cuts into both rolls, as evenly as possible, every 2.5 cm. Let the rolls rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 190 °C.

  7. Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. While baking, prepare the glaze: mix sugar smoothly with water.

  8. Remove the baked cakes from the oven, transfer them to a wire rack, and pour the glaze over them. Wait for them to cool, then slice and serve.

Nutrition Information (Per 100g)

  • Calories: 393.79 kcal
  • Fat: 12.17 g
    • Saturated Fat: 5.63 g
  • Carbohydrates: 62.4 g
    • Sugars: 25.83 g
  • Protein: 6.83 g
  • Fiber: 1.56 g

Advice

If desired, you can mix food coloring into the sugar glaze. The traditional colors for Mardi Gras are red, green, and gold.