t’s that time of year again. January 6th ends the twelve days of Christmas and starts the Carnival season. People outside of Louisiana often interchange Carnival and Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is a single day. It translates from the French language as Fat Tuesday. Carnival is the season that leads up to Mardi Gras.
What’s a Carnival season without the pastry that made it famous, the King Cake. I have offered numerous versions to my readers. This year, I have a new version along with the first King Cake recipe I have shared in these pages. The first is a Mardi Gras Pound Cake. It’s a very different take on Pound cake. The second recipe is my Simple King Cake. It’s this recipe that I have made many different versions of. So gather your ingredients and Let’s head to the kitchen!
Mardi Gras Pound Cake
Any pastry becomes a King Cake with the addition of purple, green and gold colored sugar. Here is a pound cake version. It’s great for the carnival season.
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 3/4 cups plus 1/3 cup sugar, divided
7 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
3 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream, divided
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Sugar Glaze (recipe follows)
Purple, green and gold colored sugar
Preheat oven to 300℉. Spray a 15-cup Bundt pan with baking spray with flour.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and 2 1/4 cups sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 6 to 7 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.
In a medium bowl, sift together 3 1/4 cups flour and salt. With mixer at low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with 1 cup sour cream, beginning with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, remaining 1/3 cup sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons sour cream, and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla with mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and remaining 2 tablespoons flour, and beat until smooth.
Spoon half of batter into prepared pan. Add cream cheese filling, and top with remaining batter. Using a knife, gently swirl together batter and cream cheese filling. Making sure filling does not touch the sides of the pan.
Bake for 1 hour. Cover loosely with foil, and bake until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes more. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack. Top with Sugar Glaze and colored sugars.
Sugar Glaze
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients until smooth. Use immediately.
Simple King Cake
Here’s a quick king cake for those who are not the most accomplished bakers. You can add whatever filling you want to make it your own creation.
For the Cake
1 can Crescent Seamless Dough Sheet
1 12-ounce container whipped cream cheese spread
Cinnamon sugar
For the glaze
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
Purple, Green and Gold colored Sugars
Roll out the dough sheet and cut in half, lengthwise. Spread cream cheese over each half. Sprinkle each half with a generous amount of cinnamon sugar. Roll each half sheet by the widest part, sprinkling the cinnamon sugar on the outside as you go. Place the crease where the dough ends on the bottom of a greased 13×9-inch pan. Connect the two rolled sections together to make a continuous cake. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 17-20 minutes.
While cake is cooling, make the glaze. Whisk the powdered sugar, corn syrup, milk, and vanilla together in a bowl. Mix until smooth and completely incorporated. Spread over cake. Sprinkle colored sugar in sections on top of the glaze.
While you can occasionally find King Cakes locally in grocery stores, they lack the freshness of having to be made so far way and shipped here. You will find that any homemade King Cake is better than buying one in town. Laissez les boss temps rouler!K
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