Mardi Gras Traditions

No need for Captain obvious statements: I'm aware that Mardi Gras was actually a week ago! But let's forget the date details and move on to the tastiness.

This is a King Cake, the most marvelous of treats. It's a Mardi Gras tradition to place a small plastic baby inside the baked cake and whoever gets the baby in their piece has to throw the party next year. Hooray!
Every year I attempt to make the perfect King Cake and I have failed for many years. The trouble is that this cake is not really a cake. It's more of a bready magical pastry and yeast is such a tricksy beast to deal with sometimes.

Yesterday, that streak ended with a fabulous recipe I found on Allrecipes.com.

If you're looking for a pretty, doughy, cinnamony-sweet treat that is easy breezy, keep reading...

You will need...
For the cake:
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
dash freshly grated nutmeg
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup melted butter

Frosting:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon water

Scald (bring to a near-boil) the milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Add the butter and stir until melted; set aside.

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 T of the sugar in the warm water. Allow this to proof for about 10 minutes, until it froths and is creamy. If it doesn't get to this stage, your yeast is probably past its prime and needing to be tossed in ze garbage. 

Add the cooled milk mixture to the yeast/water/sugar. Whisk in the eggs, remaining sugar, nutmeg, and salt. 

Add the flour 1 cup at a time until the dough comes together. 

Knead with the dough hook (or by hand {hahahahha poor fools}) for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is sticky and pulls away from the side of the bowl. 

Oil a large bowl, place the dough inside, and cover with plastic wrap.

And let rise for 2 hours in a warm spot, until it doubles in size.

While that baby is ruminating on it's next move, prepare the filling by simply mixing everything together in a bowl.

Punch the dough down and divide into 4 equal parts (2 per cake). 

Roll each out to about 6x16" rectangles. 

Evenly sprinkle the filling down the middle:

and brush one of the long edges with some beaten egg white. Roll the long edge up tightly like a jelly roll and press/seal the edge along the egg white. This will help keep it together while baking.

Pinch together the ends and twist the two rolls together, bringing it together at the end to form a ring.

Repeat with the remaining dough.

Preheat your oven to 375 and allow the formed cakes to rise until your oven is ready, at least 20 minutes. Pop them in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until just brown. They will over cook easily, so make sure to watch them carefully. 

Mmmm bready pastry cakey delight. 

If the filling does ooze out of the pastry during baking, just grab a spatula and smear it inside the crevices. It's all going to be covered in frosting and you don't want to let that goodness to go to waste, so smear away!

Allow the cakes to cool and then frost with the sugar/water mess. Sprinkle with the traditional Mardi Gras colors (purple, green, yellow) and BAM! You just made yourself some culture.

You. Are. Welcome.

NOMMYNOMNOM