Does anyone make king cakes? Im looking for a recipe. Or do you know where i can get a great recipe for it? If so, please share

I'm from New Orleans and moved to Tucson. Since I can't do without, I make a couple a year. The recipe I use is from a Southern cookbook I have at home. I will send it to you tonight.

Its made with both lemon and orange zest. It's actually like a sweet bread baked in a ring. I use my bread maker to knead and allow the dough to rise.

Later.....

I lived in New Orleans for 14 years and we still celebrate Mardi Gras here every year. I have 2 different recipes...one from Emeril and one that uses premade dough from the store. I'll pm them both to you tonight when I get a chance to type them out.

Laissez les bon temps roulez!!!

I've posted the recipe for the quick king cake.

Thanks! Again and again.

TIMESAVER: I do the whole first mixing and rising in my bread maker....everything up to the point of of having to punch it down and make the strips. Saves a bunch of time.

KING CAKE - The Official cake of MARDI GRAS

Makes two cakes

CAKE:

1 stick plus 1 TBS butter
2/3 cup 99% fat free skim evaporated milk
½ cup sugar
2 tsp Salt
2 packages dry yeast
½ cup warm water
4 eggs
1 TBS grated lemon rind
2 TBS grated orange rind
6 cup all purpose flour


In a saucepan, melt 1 stick butter, milk, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt. Cool to lukewarm. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 TBS sugar, yeast and water. Let stand until foaming, about 5-10 minutes. Beat eggs into yeast; then milk mixture and rinds. Stir in flour, ½ cup at a time. Reserving 1 cup to flour kneading surface. Knead dough until smooth, about 5-10 minutes. Place in large mixing bowl greased with 1 TBS butter; turning dough once to grease top, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.

FILLING;

½ C dark brown sugar, packed
¾ C granulated sugar
1 TBS cinnamon
1 stick butter, melted.


For filling, mix sugars and cinnamon Set aside.

TOPPING:
1 egg, beaten
1 cup sugar colored ( 1/3 c each yellow, purple, and green)
2 (3/4 inch) plastic babies or 2 beans.

For topping, tint sugar by mixing food coloring until desired color is reached. Usually a deep color. A food processor aids in mixing and keeps the sugar from being too moist!

When dough has doubled, punch down and divide in half. On a floured surface, roll half into a rectangle 30 x 15 inches. Brush with half of melted butter and cut into 3 lengthwise strips. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon/sugar mixture on strips, leaving a 1 inch lengthwise strip free of sugar for sealing. Fold each strip lengthwise toward the center, sealing the seam. You will now have three 30-inch strips with sugar mixture enclosed in each. Braid the 3 strips and make a circle by joining the ends. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Place each cake on a 10x15 baking sheet, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Brush each with egg. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from the pan immediately so it will not harden.

Once cake cools, ice with thinned homemade cream cheese icing or canned cream cheese frosting works well in a pinch. Alternate colored sugar in pattern of purple, green, gold. Then repeat. Add sugar while icing is still wet.

If you prefer a less sweet topping, brush top with egg and sprinkle sugars in pattern before baking.

Place small baby into slice from the bottom. The person who finds the prize will have good luck or can win a prize.

Note: you may fill the strips with anything, cream cheese filling, apple filling, blueberry filling, or praline filling with pecans. Once you brush with butter and add the cinnamon sugar, add your choice of filling.

Excerpt from Jambalaya Cookbook

Dee in AZ (transplanted from New Orleans)

Here's a pic from last year:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-photo-1299222.html

Here's the pic again, it keeps disappearing from my photos....strange....

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1300461