A Cake Fit For A King

 

For this week's blog post, Rob created a King Cake for Mardi Gras.  Even though the holiday has passed, the cake remains delicious. Mardi Gras (fat Tuesday) was Tuesday, February 21.  Nothing about Mardi Gras is predictable, including the date. Unlike Christmas or the 4th of July which always fall on the same calendar day, the only thing you can count on for sure with Carnival is that Fat Tuesday will fall on a Tuesday. The festival season (Carnival) varies from city to city.  The festival in New Orleans considers Mardi Gras to stretch the entire period from Twelfth Night (the last night of Christmas which begins Epiphany) to Ash Wednesday. Other cities treat the final three-day period before Ash Wednesday as Mardi Gras.  Carnival is a time to eat, drink and be merry before fasting during Lent. The time is filled with parades, dances and other celebrations leading up to Mardi Gras.
 
Early Christians believed that during the Lenten season (the forty days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, not including Sundays), Christians should deprive themselves of anything (especially foods) that brought joy, so that they might understand the trials that Jesus faced leading up to his death on Good Friday.  On the Tuesday before Lent, and the last day of Epiphany, Christians celebrated with a feast of their favorite foods to hold them over the coming weeks.

According to my research, the first American Mardi Gras took place on March 3, 1699 when French explorers Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Sieur de Bienville landed near present-day New Orleans. They held a small celebration and dubbed their landing spot "Point du Mardi Gras."  Bienville went on to found the settlement of Mobile, Alabama in 1702 as the first capital of French Louisiana. In 1703 French settlers in Mobile established the first organized Mardi Gras celebration tradition in what was to become the United States.

It is believed that Mardi Gras parades began in New Orleans sometime around the 1830’s. In 1872, a group of businessmen invented a King of Carnival named Rex. Alongside the people in the parades (who were dressed as high-class aristocrats), Rex tossed sugar coated almonds into the crowds. These Mardi Gras “throws” were similar to the festival customs of the English Renaissance era. 

 

During the late 1800’s, inexpensive necklaces made of glass beads began to be tossed into the crowds by the parade krewes (the organizations that sponsor the parades). The beads were an instant hit among the crowds of residents and tourists, and are a highlight of Mardi Gras in present times. 

 

More than a hundred Carnival balls take place every year in New Orleans, beginning with the Twelfth Night Ball, held by the Twelfth Night Revelers. While most balls are invitation-only, a select few are open to the public. Mardi Gras balls have been around since Louisiana was a French colony. Unique costumes, including masks, are worn by those attending balls.

The practice of wearing masks dates back to the European celebration of Carnival. One of the main advantages of masking for Mardi Gras balls, parades and parties is that one’s identity is concealed. Masking allows one to behave in ways he or she normally would not. 

King Cake may look like artwork covered in a mess of green, yellow and purple frosting or sprinkles, but there’s a whole lot of Mardi Gras symbolism behind it.  King Cake is a frosted, bready cake eaten between January 6, which is King’s Day (Feast of Epiphany) and Fat Tuesday.  According to tradition, a little plastic baby (which is supposed to symbolize baby Jesus) is put inside the cake. Legend has it that if you receive the piece of cake with the plastic baby in it, you get to be King for the day.

Putting a choking hazard inside a cake might sound strange and dangerous, but it’s a tradition that started centuries ago in old world Europe.  (There are bakers who will not place a plastic doll inside of the cakes because of the potential choking hazard.)

Below is the recipe Rob chose for the King Cake from John Kanell of Preppy Kitchen, as well as photos (without the doll inside).

Ingredients

For the Dough:
3¼ to 3½ cups all-purpose flour (390g-420g)
1/3 cup granulated sugar (66g)
1 packet instant yeast (7g, 0.25oz)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ cup warm milk (110-120F / 120ml)
½ cup unsalted butter melted (113g)
3 large eggs room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Filling:
¾ cup light brown sugar firmly packed(165g)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (57g)

For the Icing:
1¼ cup powdered sugar (150g)
2 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
green, purple, and yellow sanding sugar

Instructions

For the Dough:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together 3¼ cups flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and nutmeg.
Add the milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla.
Using the dough hook attachment, mix on medium-low speed until a smooth and sticky dough forms, about 15 minutes, scraping down the bowl a few times throughout mixing. The dough will be loose, almost like a stretchy cake batter. It should feel tacky but not stick to a clean finger when quickly touched.
Add the remaining ¼ cup of flour if the dough is sticking to your finger after 15 minutes.
Scrape the dough down into the bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
On a lightly floured work surface, turn out the risen dough.
Roll and stretch the dough into a 10x20-inch rectangle.
Let it rest while you make the filling.

For the Filling:
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter, stirring until well combined.
Spread the filling over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border on one long side.
Starting at the long side opposite the border, tightly roll up the dough into a log, pinching the seam to seal.
Roll seam side down. Carefully transfer to a piece of parchment paper. Bring the two ends together to form a wreath, and pinch the ends together to create a wreath.
Place the wreath with the parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet, reshaping the wreath into a circle, if needed. With scissors, cut the edge of the dough to allow expansion and prevent cracking as the dough rises.
Loosely cover and let rise until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
While rising, preheat the oven to 350F.
When risen, use a sharp knife or kitchen shears to make cuts about a third of the way through, spaced 1 inch apart all around the outside of the dough ring.
Uncover and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely on the pan. Transfer to a serving platter. 

For the Icing:
In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and milk until thick but spoonable.
Spoon over the top of the cake, using the spoon to cover the top, and push the icing to drip down the sides. Decorate with alternating sections of green, purple, and yellow sugars.

Notes
I highly recommend using a scale to measure your flour. However, if you don’t have a scale, be sure to fluff your flour with a spoon and then spoon it into your cups before leveling it off with a knife. This method is the best way to measure flour without over-packing the measuring cup.
Avoid over-mixing as you risk over-developing the gluten in the batter leading to a tough, dry, and dense king cake.
The eggs should be at room temperature to ensure they incorporate evenly into your batter without accidentally over-mixing. If you forgot to bring out your eggs, you could quickly bring them to room temperature by placing them in a large bowl and covering them with warm tap water for 5 minutes.
The time it takes for your dough to rise depends on the temperature of your kitchen. The ideal temperature for dough rising is 75 to 78F.When rolling the dough, make sure to do so tightly, or you might get gaps between the layers once baked.
Make sure the milk is between 110 to 120F as milk that’s too hot will kill the yeast.

Here are some pictures from the bake:

Have a great day !