
It’s been a while on the blog but it’s a new year and I plan to get back in the swing of things. There will be more posts about what was happening in the interval, but I wanted to honor the New Year with a traditional recipe.
Old Fashioned Cooking – King Cake
In this modern-day-take-it-out-of-the-freezer-and shove-it-in-the-microwave world, we often lose sight of what real food tastes like. Not too surprising, when you look at the ingredient lists on most prepared foods. Many so-called foods have more chemicals than food ingredients. I figure if you can’t even pronounce half the ingredients, you shouldn’t rely on it as a major food source. On the other hand, just think about beef stew or chili simmering slowly through the day, ready to warm the cockles of your heart – not to mention your cold hands – come dinner time. Think of home-made breakfast burritos or Cornish pasties, stored in the freezer for those mornings when you can barely find the kitchen, let alone think up a menu.
The History of King Cake
King Cake has been part of New Year celebrations since the early 1700s at least, and possibly much farther back, as it came to the US with Basque settlers. However, its origins may actually lie in a sweet bread known as Vasilopita, which derives from the Saturnalia celebrations of the early Romans. A staple of Louisiana’s Mardi Gras, the cinnamon-roll yeasted dough is typically iced and sprinkled with colored sugar. Classic Mardi Gras colors include purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power. A small porcelain baby is baked in the cake and is supposed to bring prosperity and luck to the finder.
King Cake Recipe
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup warm water, 105°-110° F
- 2 ¼ teaspoon instant dry yeast, rapid-rise
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 ½ tablespoons salted butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus ¼ cup
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened (for filling)
- ½ cup brown sugar, light or dark, packed
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 egg whites
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons warm milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- purple, green and yellow sugar or sugar crystals
- porcelain baby
Directions
Beat egg yolks and set aside. Proof yeast in warm water with sugar for 5-10 minutes. Heat butter and sour cream in a microwave or double boiler until the butter is soft and the sour cream is just warm. Add vanilla to butter/sour cream mixture, then follow with proofed yeast. Stir to combine. Mix in flour to make a sticky dough; remove to floured counter and knead 3 to 5 minutes. Butter a large bowl and turn dough into bowl; let rise about 1 hour. While the dough is rising, make the filling by mixing butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour. Punch dough down and roll into a 12”x 20” rectangle. Spread dough with filling. Roll dough tightly starting with the long end and pinch seams closed with wet fingertips. You can place the porcelain baby inside as you roll the dough or wait until the cake is baked and insert it through a small slit you cut in the baked, cooled cake. Form a ring by bringing ends together and pinch ends to seal. Let rise about an hour. Preheat oven to 375°F while you brush the cake with egg wash on all sides. Bake about 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Allow to cool completely. Mix powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smo0th, then drizzle icing over cake and sprinkle with bands of the colored sugars.