King Cake

Food Network Kitchens

Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine

Picture of King Cake Recipe Photo: King Cake Recipe
Rated 4 stars out of 5
  • Rate This Recipe
  • Read 16 Reviews
Total Time:
12 hr 55 min
Prep
45 min
Inactive
11 hr 30 min
Cook
40 min
Yield:
12 servings
Level:
Difficult
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Ingredients

For the Cake:

  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 2 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
  • 2 large egg yolks, plus 2 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing the bowl

For the Filling and Glaze:

  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1/4 cup bourbon
  • 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 dry bean or plastic King Cake baby (available at party-supply stores or mardigrasday.com)
  • 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
  • Purple, green and gold sanding sugar, for decorating

Directions

Make the cake: Heat the milk in a saucepan until scalding; transfer to a food processor, add the yeast and pulse to combine. Add 1/2 cup flour and the egg yolks; process to combine. Pour the remaining 2 cups flour evenly over the yeast mixture; do not process. Put the lid on; set aside for 90 minutes.

Add the 2 whole eggs, granulated sugar, lemon zest, salt and nutmeg to the food processor; process to make a slightly textured dough, about 1 minute. With the machine running, slowly add the butter to make a smooth, sticky dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly buttered bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place for 3 hours. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead briefly; form into a ball and return to the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Make the filling:

Plump the raisins in the bourbon in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the brown sugar, pecans, vanilla, cinnamon, orange zest, salt and the bean or plastic baby; mix until combined and set aside.

On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 20-by-7-inch rectangle, with the long edge facing you. Spoon the filling in an even layer over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border along the top and bottom. Fold the bottom and then the top edge over the filling to make a tight roll; pinch to seal. Transfer the roll seam-side down to a parchment-lined baking sheet; tuck one end into the other to form a ring. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until the roll doubles in size, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cake until firm and golden brown, about 40 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Make the glaze:

Mix 3 tablespoons water with the confectioners' sugar; brush 3 tablespoons glaze over the cake. Sprinkle with bands of colored sugar; drizzle with more glaze.

Photograph by Lara Robby/Studio D

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Newest Ratings and Reviews

Read all 16 reviews

  • on February 25, 2013

    Flag

    Loved it and took the advice from one of the reviews & added a 1/2 lb of cream cheese to the filling and doubled the filling.

    people found this review Helpful.
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  • on February 22, 2012

    Flag

    great recipe. The cake comes out perfect, with a nice crispy crust. I doubled the filling as others recommended, and I kneaded in a half pound of cream cheese in the filling as well. Everyone was moaning over it...there were plenty of kisses for the chef after this one...

    people found this review Helpful.
    Was this review helpful to you? Yes | No
  • on February 21, 2012

    Flag

    This was perfect as is. My colleages have devoured it. I have never used a bean before but I used a large dried lima aund it was easy to identify. This was more convenient than trying to find a plastic baby.

    people found this review Helpful.
    Was this review helpful to you? Yes | No

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