FLEISCHMAN'S YEAST KING CAKE

Fleischmann’s Yeast King Cake

A traditional King Cake is circular in shape to represent a crown, and decorated with sugar tinted in the classic Carnival colors---green, gold, and purple, symbolizing faith, power, and justice. 

Serves 10 to 12

Ingredients

4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, in all

1 cup sugar

2 packages Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise Yeast

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1 stick salted butter plus 1/4 cup melted butter

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Powdered Sugar Glaze (recipe follows)

Colored Sugars (recipe follows)

In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and un-dissolved yeast. Heat milk, water, and stick of butter until very warm, about 120°F to 130°F.

Add to flour, yeast, and sugar mixture and beat for 2 minutes at medium speed with an electric mixer. Add eggs and 1/2 cup of the remaining flour, and salt. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining flour to make a stiff batter.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours. Punch dough down and remove to a lightly floured surface. Divide into 3 equal portions. Roll each to 28x4 inches. Brush with melted butter, then sprinkle evenly with the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon.

Beginning at the long end, roll each up tightly as for a jelly-roll. Pinch seams to form long ropes. Braid, then form into an oval. Pinch ends together to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Bake at 375°F for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. Brush with powdered sugar glaze and sprinkle with the colored sugars.

Powdered Sugar Glaze

Makes 2 cups

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 to 3 tablespoons whole milk

Start with 2 tablespoons of milk and combine with the powdered sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add the remaining tablespoon of milk. The mixture should be thick enough to stay in place when placed on the cooled king cake.

Colored Sugars

Makes 1 1/2 cups

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided into 1/2 cup measures

green, yellow, red, and blue food colorings

Divide sugar into three zip-top plastic bags or sealed jars. To one bag/jar add 8 drops of green food coloring. To the second, add 8 drops of yellow food coloring. In a small dish mix 8 drops of blue food coloring and 16 drops of red food coloring, and add it to the third bag. Mix sugars and colors together thoroughly in each bag.

DOMINICA KING CAKE

DOMENICA KING CAKE

By Chef Lisa White - Dessert, Game Day - Feb 10, 2014

There are few times of the year so beloved in New Orleans as Mardi Gras, and traditions like King Cake really make the season special. This coveted version from Chef Lisa White of Domenica is positively heavenly. Though you cannot truly call it a traditional King Cake, it represents all of the decadence and sparkle of the magical time of year to which it pays homage.

For the Cake

1 cup lukewarm milk, about 95 degrees

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp dry yeast

3 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup melted butter

5 egg yolks, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp grated fresh orange zest

3 tsp cinnamon

Fillings

Fresh Bananas

Caramel

Mascarpone

Roasted Pecans

Praline Glaze

Gold Leaf

For the Mascarpone

4 oz Mascarpone Cheese (we use Zertos if you cannot locate try to get a thick variety)

4 oz cream cheese

1 pinch salt

2 oz powdered sugar, sifted

For the Praline Glaze

4 oz Brown Sugar

4oz Butter

1 oz Molasses

2 oz Heavy Cream

4 oz Praline Liqueur

For the Cake:

1. Pour the warm milk into a large bowl. Whisk in the sugar, yeast, and a heaping tbsp. of the flour, mixing until both the sugar and yeast have dissolved.

2. Once bubbles have developed on the surface of the milk and it begins to foam, whisk in the butter, eggs, vanilla, and zest. Add remaining flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a large rubber spatula.

3. After the dough comes together, pulling away from the sides of the bowl, shape it into a large ball. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes.

4. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a draft free place to let it rise for 1.5 hours or until it doubles in size.

5. Preheat the oven to 375. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and roll dough out to as square as possible and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Then tightly as possible roll up (like a cinnamon roll) pinch ends closed and shape into oval tucking ends under each other. Then place on a nonstick cookie sheet and let it rise until it doubles in size, about 30 -45 minutes.

6. Once, it’s doubled in size, place the cookie sheet in the oven and back until the oval is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven, place on a wire rack, and allow for cooling - approximately 30 minutes.

7. After, it cools, slice the oval, aiming for the top 1/3. Set aside.

For the Mascarpone:

1. You want the cheeses to be room temperature when you start this. Place cream cheese first in mixer bowl with paddle attachment and place on medium speed – stop & scrape bowl. Once, it is visually smooth and not lumpy - add mascarpone to the cream cheese and same thing turn on – then stop scrape bowl once smooth

2. Add the powdered sugar – once, mixture is completely combined put refrigerator. You want it to be somewhat stiff when assembling your king cake

For the Praline Glaze:

Place sugar, molasses, & butter in saucepan over medium heat continue cooking till bubbly and whisk it. Once mixture is bubbly (all over) slowly add cream and whisk once thoroughly combined whisk in Praline Liqueur - while hot you will pour on cake slowly.

To Compile:

1. On the bottom half you are going to smear with caramel, then sliced fresh bananas, mascarpone cheese, roasted pecans, and then the top is placed back on.

2. Now that the top is on the King Cake place whole cake on a wire rack on top of a cookie sheet

3. Now is the time for the Praline Glaze...using a ladle slowly pour over the top of your cake so it is covered

4. This is when I usually add the gold leaf but I am positive it will be just as great without!

LIBRARY KING CAKE

A Really Good King Cake Recipe!

This recipe was provided by Wayne Everard, formerly Archivist in the Louisiana Division/City Archives. Having eaten many king cakes made from this recipe, we at NOPL can assure you that it is VERY good eatin'. Enjoy (and feel free to reprint and share, if you like)!

Dough Ingredients:

4 packages active dry yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water (110-115 degrees F)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 cup cold milk

1 cup plain or vanilla yoghurt

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 stick butter or margarine

5-6 1/2 cups all-purpose flouR

Filling Ingredients:

1 stick butter or margarine, melted

2 cups granulated sugar

3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 dried bean, shelled pecans, or naked plastic babies

Icing Ingredients:

3 tablespoons soft butter or margarine

4 cups confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

4-6 tablespoons milk

Combine the yeast, 1/2 of the sugar, and the lukewarm water in a very large bowl, stir well and set aside for a few minutes until the mixture swells slightly and small bubbles appear on the surface. Stir in the remaining sugar, milk, yoghurt, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Add egg yolks and mix again.

In another bowl, work the butter/margarine into 5 cups of the flour.

Add the flour-butter/margarine mixture to the yeast mixture a cup at a time, mixing well after each cup is added. Begin to knead in the bowl, adding more flour if necessary to make a smooth, elastic dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 5 minutes, adding more flour if the dough is still sticky.

Shape the dough into a ball and place in a bowl which has been buttered or sprayed with a no-stick spray. Cover and let stand in a warm place until dough doubles in size.

OR

Add 1/2 of dough ingredients to the mixing chamber of an automatic bread machine, set the machine on the dough cycle, and it do all of the work. Remove the risen dough from the chamber at the end of the cycle. Repeat with second half of dough ingredients for two cakes or proceed using 1/2 of the filling and icing ingredients for one cake.

Punch dough down and divide in half. Roll each half on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 8 x 14 inches. Brush each rectangle with 1/2 stick of melted butter or margarine. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle 1/2 of the mixture over each rectangle. Roll up from the wide end, as you would a jelly roll, inserting one of the dried beans, pecans, or naked babies along the way. Press the ends of the dough together and stretch the roll into an oval about 14 inches long. Place on a greased/sprayed cookie sheet and allow to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 35-45 minutes until the cakes are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped with the fingers. Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes.

Beat the butter or margarine until softened. Add confectioner=s sugar and vanilla and continue to beat, gradually adding milk until a glaze consistency is achieved. Use half of the icing on each cake.

Spread the icing evenly over each cake and decorate immediately with granulated sugar that has been rendered purple, green and gold with food coloring, making alternating bands of color.

Other decorating options:

Divide the icing into three portions and use food coloring to make purple, green and gold icing. Spread in alternating bands along the length of the cakes.

Use purple, green and gold gumdrops, jelly beans, or other candy to decorate the white icing.