It's Carnival Time!

Last year about this time, I was feeling a bit homesick and lonely and very nostalgic.  I hunted around on the internet and finally found a recipe that would, hopefully, be exactly what I was wanting.  It was Mardi Gras time and I wanted King Cake...not the sticky sweet over-iced, cinnamon roll Randazzo's King Cake that everyone raves about, but the traditional slightly sweet bread-style King Cake that the now defunct McKenzie's Bakery made when I was a child.  When we had King Cake in my house, it was more often than not, the standard plain King Cake from McKenzie's, and there were fights over who would get one of the two pieces with cherries from the cake -- with three kids, someone was destined to be disappointed.

My nostalgia was not to be denied, and I was sure if I searched through enough Google find pages I would finally come across something that was close enough to be perfect.   Most recipes were from cream cheese- or apple-filled cinnamon roll cakes, but finally, well hidden in a message board thread, I found a recipe for the traditional cake with no fillings and no gloppy icing.  I had to make it!  NOW!  And so I did.  I wrote down when I would need and headed off to the grocery, having to go to all three groceries in the town to find the most elusive ingredient -- anise extract.  And about 4 hours later, I had created a King Cake.

It was my first attempt at a yeasted dough, and in retrospect, it was not my best effort.  Since then I have experimented with other recipes, and over time, became quite proficient at yeasted doughs.  That initial recipe was designed to use an electric mixer for the dough, and through practice, I found that my breads are better if I make the dough by hand.  I found using a mixer resulted in a overworked dough that was too dry and too hard to work with, even after the second rise.  This year's King Cake was going to be different; it was going to be better!

I began by adjusting the recipe instructions to be made by hand, rather than with a mixer, and while I made a whole recipe of dough, my final King Cake used only half the dough.  The other half is in my freezer and will become something baked for St. Joseph's Day.

I think the final result was better than my first attempt -- good enough to share with friends at our mini Dimanche Gras celebration.

McKenzie's Traditional King Cake

Cake:
1/2 cup warm water (110° to 120° F)
2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
1/2 cup + 2 teaspoons sugar, divided
4 to 5 cups flour, divided
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup warm milk (110° to 110° F)
1/2 cup melted butter
5 beaten egg yolks
1 teaspoon anise extract

Glaze/Decoration:
Candied/Glacé cherries (optional)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 - 3 teaspoons milk
6 tablespoons sugar, divided
red, blue, green, yellow food coloring

• In small bowl, combine warm water, 2 teaspoons sugar and yeast.  Stir to dissolve, and let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
• In large bowl, combine 4 cups flour, remaining sugar, salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest, stirring to mix thoroughly.
• In separate bowl, combine milk, melted butter, anise extract and egg yolks, stirring well.
• All at once, add milk and yeast mixtures to flour mixture, stirring until soft dough forms.
• Flour work surface using 1/4 cup remaining flour.
• Turn dough onto floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding remaining flour as necessary.
• Form dough into a ball, oil lightly and place in an oiled bowl, cover loosely and place in a draft-free location to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.
• Grease baking sheet.
• Punch down dough, roll into log and shape log into an oval shape, placing on greased baking sheet.
• Place cherries (if desired) in dough, pushing in with fingers until well seated.
• Cover cake loosely with cloth and allow to rise in draft-free location for 45 to 60 minutes or until doubled.
• While cake is rising, preheat oven to 350° F.
• Bake cake at 350° F for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.
• While cake is baking, blend powered sugar with enough milk to form a spreadable glaze.  Make purple, green, and yellow colored sugar sprinkles by mixing 2 tablespoons sugar with 2 to 4 drops of food coloring, stirring until uniform (for purple, add an equal amount of red and blue drops).
• Remove cake to cooling rack.
• Using a pastry brush, paint glaze on cake between cherries and sprinkle colored sugar on wet glaze.
• Allow cake to cool completely.
• Cut cake into individual pieces to serve.

My Observations:

• Add only as much flour as can be easily incorporated in the dough.  The dough should be smooth and elastic and not stick to the work surface, even if the surface is free of flour.  I used approximately half of the 5th cup of flour, but depending on conditions you may need more or less.
• This is an iced brioche style bread with a subtle spice flavor.  It goes beautifully with coffee or black tea.
• Traditional King Cakes have a plastic baby or a bean baked into the dough.  I did not have a bean, and plastic babies are not available here in Australia (neither is purple dusting sugar, hence the instructions for making it from scratch), so my King Cake was baby-less.  If you want to add the baby/bean, push item through underside of formed cake just before adding the cherries.
• I used only half the dough for my cake.  I wrapped the reaming half in cling film and placed in a freezer bag after the initial rise.  When I use the frozen dough, I will allow it to thaw at room temperature, shape the dough and continue the directions from that point.  I have never had a problem freezing dough after the first rise.