King For A Day

by Two Chums on February 11, 2013

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras…Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday when the season of Lent begins. If you happen to live in the south east especially in Louisiana, it is also the season for King Cake. Unless you are from this region or know someone who is, you may never have heard or known of King Cake. You will now, and you are in for a real treat!Mardi Gras dates back thousands of years, as a Christian holiday and cultural phenomenon. In some regions and countries it is known as Carnival. It is celebrated in many countries around the world – mainly those with large Roman Catholic populations – on the day before Lent begins. The New Orleans Carnival season, or Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) starts after Twelfth Night (January 5), or Epiphany (January 6). It is a season of parades, balls and king cake parties.

The “king cake” takes its name from the biblical three kings refered to in the Christmas story. In Catholic liturgical tradition, Epiphany – celebrated on January 6th – celebrates the visit of the wise men to the Baby Jesus. The Eve of Epiphany, the night of January 5th, is known as Twelfth Night (the Twelve Days of Christmas are counted from Christmas Eve until this night). The season for king cake consists of the period between the Twelve Days of Christmas (Twelfth Night and Epiphany Day), and Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday”.

I must confess here that until two of our three daughters attended college in Mississippi, I knew very little, if anything at all, about Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday, much less King Cake. But living in the south and having roommates and many friends from New Orleans, proved to be an education not only for them but for me as well, about things I had previously only heard about but really didn’t understand. One of the “tastiest” benefits of our daughters southern college education, was my subsequent culinary education about King Cake. I came to understand and truly appreciate this lovely tradition.

King Cake is more of a rich sweet bread than an actual cake. Some have a rich frangipane, or almond filling somewhat like that of a bear claw pastry, and some don’t have any filling but are spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon rind. It is always decorated with icing and colored sugar in green, gold and purple, the colors of Mardi Gras. It is shaped to be round or oval to simulate a king’s crown and always has a tiny ceramic “baby”, or a bean, that represents the baby Jesus, planted inside the cake. The person who gets the piece of cake with the bean is declared to be the “king” or “queen” of that party or celebration.

Whether you are celebrating Mardi Gras or not, there is no reason not to enjoy this very delicious treat. It isn’t hard to make and enjoying it with your family and explaining the history behind it, can help you create your own family celebration and traditions. All this leads to more love, more joy and certainly more abundant living 🙂

King Cake

This version includes the frangipane (almond) cream filling. If you would prefer, you can make the cake without it. The dough for the king cake is a very rich brioche dough so using the filling isn’t necessary in order for the cake to taste special. If you make it without the filling, increase the amount of cinnamon to 3 teaspoons and use a bit more nutmeg as well. It is truly delicious either way.

1 cup lukewarm milk, about 110°F
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons dry yeast
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
A pinch of salt
1 cup melted butter
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest
1 teaspoons cinnamon
Several gratings of fresh nutmeg

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

2. Once bubbles have developed on the surface of the milk and it begins to foam, add in the butter, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the remaining flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

3. After the dough comes together, pulling away from the sides of the bowl of the mixer, allow it to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

4. Cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a draft-free place to let it proof, or rise, for 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in volume.

5. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and roll it out to a long strip.

Spread the frangipane cream filling down the center of the dough.

Place the bean in the filling.

Roll the sides of the dough over the filling

and shape the rounded strip into a circle or oval and place on a cookie sheet.

Let it rise until it doubles in size, about 30 minutes.

6. Once it’s doubled in size, place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake until the braid is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

7. For the icing, while the cake is cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar, cream, and lemon juice in a bowl until the icing is smooth and very spreadable. If the icing is too thick, add a bit more cream; if it’s a touch too loose, add a little more powdered sugar.
8. Once the cake has cooled, spread the icing over the top of the cake and sprinkle with purple, green, and gold decorative sugars while the icing is still wet. Slide the cake onto a platter.