King Cake for Mardi Gras

I'm not much into Mardi Gras, mostly because I don't know a lot about it. Also because I live in Virginia, and it's just far enough away from New Orleans that we don't hear any of the noise from the all-night street parties. The only thing I know about Mardi Gras is that the celebration includes a pastry known as King Cake. Here's a tidbit from Wikipedia for you:

A king cake is a type of cake associated with the festival of Epiphany in the Christmas season in a number of countries, and in other places with Mardi Gras and Carnival. In the United States, which celebrates Carnival ranging from Pensacola, Florida to East Texas, centered on New Orleans it is associated instead with Mardi Gras season traditions. The cakes have a small trinket (often a small plastic baby, sometimes said to represent Baby Jesus) inside, and the person who gets the piece of cake with the trinket has various privileges and obligations (such as buying [or making] the cake for the next celebration).

A cake with a plastic baby inside!! How could you not be into that?? I omitted the baby because I know it's gonna always be me making the king cake, and that's okay by me! ;D

Another successful checkmark on my Top 100 list! If you've never had King Cake before, it tastes very similar to a cinnamon roll. It's chewy and sweet and sugary and delicious! It's a tiny bit time consuming and requires some effort, but I would absolutely make this again next Mardi Gras!

Making the dough, proofing, and rolling it out...

I used two types of cinnamon in my filling!

Braids... proofed, baked, and iced!

Ain't she a beauty!?

My first taste of King Cake! Happy Mardi Gras! ;)

King Cake (from "Recipe Hall of Fame Dessert Cookbook")
Makes 2 large pastries

Dough
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2/3 cup fat-free evaporated milk (I used regular evap. milk)
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 packages active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water
4 eggs
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind (I used only 1 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons grated orange rind (I used only 1 tablespoon)
5 cups plus 1 cup all-purpose flour

In a saucepan, melt 1 stick butter, milk, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt. Cool to lukewarm. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 tablespoons sugar, yeast, and water. Let stand until foaming, about 5-10 minutes. Beat eggs into yeast; then add milk mixture and rinds. Stir in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, reserving 1 cup of flour for kneading surface. Knead dough until smooth, about 5-10 minutes. (I put mine in a stand mixer with the dough hook on medium-low speed for about 6 minutes.) Place in large mixing bowl greased with 1 tablespoon butter, turning dough once to grease top; cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Filling
1 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Mix sugars and cinnamon; set aside.
When dough has doubled, punch down and divide in half. On a floured surface, roll half into a rectangle 30 x 15. (I couldn't get mine quite this big, but I got within a few inches.) Brush with half of the melted butter and cut into 3 lengthwise strips. Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture on strips, leaving a 1-inch lengthwise strip free for sealing. Fold each strip lengthwise toward the center, sealing the seam. You will now have three 30-inch strips with sugar mixture enclosed in each. Braid the 3 strips and make a circle by joining ends. (It's a bit tricky to braid the ends together, but just start tucking and eventually you'll get it.) Repeat with other half of dough. Place each cake on a 10 x 15-inch baking sheet, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. (I covered mine with plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick spray.)

Garnish
1 cup sugar, colored (1/3 cup each of yellow, purple, and green)
1 egg, beaten
2 (3/4-inch) plastic babies or 2 beans (I was going to use an almond, but I forgot them!)

Tint sugar by mixing food coloring until desired color is reached. For purple, use equal amounts of blue and red. A food processor aids in mixing, and keeps the sugar from being too moist.

Brush each cake with beaten egg and sprinkle with colored sugars, alternating colors. (I used the egg wash, but I did not sprinkle my cakes with sugar before baking. Instead I mixed 2 cups confectioners' sugar with a bit of orange juice until I got a thick glaze. Warm that in the microwave until it is pourable and slightly warm, about 15-20 seconds. Slowly pour the glaze over the cooled cakes. Let it set for about 1 minute, then sprinkle with colored sugars.) Preheat oven to 350°. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from pan immediately so sugar will not harden; while still warm, place 1 plastic baby in each from underneath. Makes two 9x 12-inch cakes. Freezes well.

To freeze: Wrap cooled cake tightly in plastic. Before serving, remove plastic and thaw.

Recipe was sent in from Jambalaya (Louisiana)

Mardi Gras Cupcakes

This week, wing night fell on Fat Tuesday! What a perfect opportunity to put a little extra effort into the decorating aspect of my cupcakes. I am definitely no cake decorator. In my cupcakes, flavor is always the first priority. So for me, extra effort just means adding a little color to the frosting and piping some stars. The cupcakes are from the "Mardi Gras Cupcakes" recipe in Cupcakes From the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn.

From the book:
"What better day than Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, the day before the Christian season of Lent begins, to forget about calories? Whereas King Cake might be the traditional sweet on Mardi Gras, these fun cupcakes are an easy version. Instead of a time-consuming yeast bread dough, you make a quick cream cheese-pound cake batter."
(More about the King Cake)

The original recipe calls for a simple confectioners' sugar glaze, but how totally boring! Instead, I made a whipped buttercream to go along with the flavor of the cupcakes. I'll always use this recipe when I don't feel like getting let down by another from-scratch vanilla cake recipe. These were FAN-TAS-TIC! Seriously... make these... right now... get in the kitchen!

Mardi Gras Cupcakes
Makes 24

CUPCAKES:
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 to 3 pecan halves (optional)

GLAZE:
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons milk

GARNISH:
Purple, green, and yellow or gold sprinkles
Gold dragees (optional)
Chocolate gold coins (optional)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
2. Prepare the cupcake batter: Place the cake mix, cream cheese, water, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla and almond extracts in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it 3/4 full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) If desired, push pecans deeply into the center of 2 or 3 cupcakes so they cannot be seen. Place the pans in the oven.
3. Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 16 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool completely for 30 minutes before glazing.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze: Place the confectioners' sugar and milk in a small mixing bowl and whisk to combine until smooth.
5. With a soup spoon, drizzle the glaze over the cooled cupcakes. Immediately garnish with sugar sprinkles, shaking on the colors in three separate strips. Add chocolate coins and gold dragees, if desired. The cupcakes are ready to serve. (Remove the dragees before serving the cupcakes.)

Store these cupcake in a cake saver or under a glass dome at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Whipped Buttercream (my recipe)
Makes 2-3 cups (enough frost 12 cupcakes)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/3 cup heavy cream

Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer on low to medium speed until fluffy. With the mixer on low, add extracts, then slowly add the cream. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.