Last week someone was kind enough to suggest the website for King Cake.
I checked it out and may try it some.
In our local newspaper this week there was another recipe for this
bread, called Buttery King Cake. I'm enclosing this recipe for anyone
who might like to try it.
Buttery King Cake
".....This recipe from the American Butter Institute is more of a sweet
bread than a cake. It is make with yeast and drizzled with a simple
lemon frosting and then sprinkled with sugar in the Romanov colors."
1/2 cup milk
1 package active dry yeast (2¼ tsp)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour, divided
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter,
softened & cut into pieces
3 eggs, slightly beaten at room temp
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
A plastic doll, 1-inch high, dried bean or pecan half*
Frosting (recipe follows)
Heat 1/2 cup milk until warm (105 to 115F ). In a large mixer bowl,
dissolve yeast in warm milk. Stir in sugar and salt and mix well. Let
stand a few minutes, or until bubbly. Add 2 cups of the bread flour,
the butter, beaten eggs, lemon peel and nutmeg. With an electric mixer,
beat on slow speed until all ingredients are moistened. Beat 3 minutes
on medium speed. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
On a lightly floured surface knead dough until smooth and elastic,
adding more bread flour if needed, about 5 minutes. Place dough in
well-buttered bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let dough rise
in a warm place (80 to 85F ) about 1 1/2 hours, or until dough doubles
in volume.
Punch down dough several times to remove air bubbles. Shape into a rope
24 inches long and place on a buttered baking sheet. Pinch the ends
together to form a ring. Cover dough with a cloth and let it rise in a
warm place until it again doubles in volume, about 1 1/4 hours.
Preheat oven to 350F .
Whisk together the remaining egg and 1 Tablespoon milk; gently brush
over the top of the dough. Bake 22 to 27 minutes or until golden and
cake sounds hollow when lightly tapped. [Internal temperature should
read 190F on an instant-read therm.]
Remove from baking sheet and cool completely on a wire rack. Once the
cake is cool, press the doll, dried bean or nut gently into the bottom
of the cake so that it is hidden.
_______________
*The person who found the treasurer in the cake last year must bake the
cake for this year's "fat Tuesday" or Mardi Gras.
Frosting:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 Tablespoons milk Yellow, green and purple decorating
sugars.*
Combine confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon milk. Stir
with a wire whisk until smooth. If icing is too thick, stir in another 1
tablespoon milk. Spoon icing over top of ring, allowing it to run down
the sides. Sprinkle with colored sugar, creating rows of each color
about 1½ inches wide. Repeat all around the ring.
YIELD: Makes 14 servings.
SOURCE: American Butter Institute as reproduced in The Washington Times,
Wednesday, February 23, 1000:E1
____________
* Alexis Romanov of the Russian royal family visited Mardi Gras in New
Orleans in 1872 and from hence forth, it is said, the celebration took
on the royal colors signifying justice, faith and power.