King Cake

Ingredients

• Yeast

  Leavening agents, baker's, compressed

  ¼ oz or 7g

• Water

  Plain, clean water

  ¼ cup or 59g

• Reduced fat milk

  Fluid, 2% milkfat, with added vitamin a and vitamin d

  ½ cup or 122g

• Sugar

  White, granulated sugar

  ¼ cup or 50g

• Butter

  Unsalted

  ¼ cup or 57g

• Egg yolk

  Raw, fresh

  2 large yolk (separated from white) or 34g

• Salt

  Table

  ¾ tsp or 5g

• Cinnamon

  Spices, ground

  1 tsp or 3g

• Nutmeg

  Spices, ground

  ½ tsp or 1g

• Almonds

  Nuts, blanched

  ⅛ tsp or 0.4g

• Lemon zest

  1 tsp or 2g

• Orange zest

  2 tsp or 4g

• Egg white

  Raw, fresh eggs

  1 large or 33g

• Brown sugar

  ½ cup packed or 110g

• Cinnamon

  Spices, ground

  1 ½ tsp or 4g

• Salt

  Table

  0.001 cup or 0.4g

• Butter

  Unsalted

  ¼ cup or 57g

• Sugar

  White, granulated sugar

  1 cup or 200g

• Cream cheese

  Low fat

  2 tbsp, whipped or 20g

• Vanilla extract

  ½ tsp or 2g

• Lemon juice

  Raw

  1 tbsp or 15g

Directions

1. To make the dough
2. In a small bowl or measuring cup, dissolve the yeast in the water. Stir in 1 teaspoon sugar and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks, salt, and, for a flavored dough (but omit this if you are using a filling), the spice or zest.
3. Blend in 11/2 cups flour.Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft workable dough.
4. On a lightly floured surface or in a mixer with a dough hook, knead the dough until smooth and springy, about 5 minutes.
5. Knead in the citron, mixed candied fruit or golden raisins.
6. Place in an oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a kitchen towel or loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours, or in the refrigerator overnight.
7. TO MAKE THE OPTIONAL FILLING
8. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the pecans. Drizzle the butter over top and mix until crumbly.Punch down the dough and knead briefly.
9. IF USING THE FILLING:
10. Roll the dough into a 16- by 10-inch rectangle, spread evenly with the filling, leaving 1 inch uncovered on all sides. If using a token, place it on the rectangle be sure to warn your guests.Beginning from a long end, roll up jellyroll style.
11. Then bring the ends together to form an oval. THK NOTE- ours ended up looking more like a circle. For an oval shape, you may wish to make a longer, thinner rectangle.
12. Place on a parchment paper-lined or greased baking sheet, seam side down. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap spritzed with cooking spray and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
13. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F.Brush the dough with the egg wash.Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack.
14. TO MAKE A 3 STRAND BRAID
15. Divide the dough in thirds and roll each piece into a 16-inch rope. THK NOTE: We made a 3 rope version, which comes out slightly more like a circle than an oval if your strands are 16 inches. If you prefer an oval shape, the strands should be closer to 20 inches.**Braid by first connecting the ends of the ropes at one end.
16. As you braid, be sure that you are are pulling the strands gently taut to make a neat and even braid, otherwise your cake may bulge in some areas.
17. When you are ready to connect the ends, unbraid a few inches at each end, then braid them together by connecting the corresponding pieces. For example, center rope to center rope.
18. Place on a parchment paper-lined or greased baking sheet, seam side down. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap spritzed with cooking spray and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
19. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F.Brush the dough with the egg wash.Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack.
20. TO MAKE THE ICING
21. In a medium bowl, stir the confectioners' sugar, optional butter or cream cheese, vanilla, and enough milk until smooth and of a pouring consistency.If desired, divide the icing into thirds and tint each third with one of the food colorings. Or you can drizzle or spread the icing over the warm cake.
22. While the icing is still wet, sprinkle with the colored sugar. Decorating a King Cake neatly can be tricky, it is quite a messy process! We found the easiest way to do this neatly is to use a pastry brush to apply icing to each section, then sprinkle with sugar, let dry, and move on to the next section. For the braided cake, follow the braid pattern around the cake, using one color at a time and applying to each icing section directly after applying while still wet (the icing dries fast!). Then allow the icing to dry and gently tap off the excess sugar before starting the next color.Serve warm or at room temperature. After cooling, the cake can be wrapped well in plastic, then foil and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Do not cover with the icing before freezing.
23. Recipe by: Gil Marks (source: https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/king-cake-recipe-history/)