Video:How to Make Mardi Gras King Cake

Transcript:How to Make Mardi Gras King Cake

Hi, I’m Krystyna Rittichier with About.com and today I’ll show you how to make a Mardi Gras King Cake. The Mardi Gras King Cake is rolled with a cinnamon filling, and topped with homemade colored icings.

The Mardi Gras King Cake Recipe

For the cake you will need:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 16 oz sour cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 eggs
• 6 1/2 cups flour, divided
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter plastic baby trinket (optional)

The Mardi Gras King Cake Icing

For the icing you will need:

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp milk
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• Green, yellow, blue and red food coloring

Form the King Cake Dough

Place a saucepan on the stove set to low heat. Add the butter, sour cream, sugar and salt. Stir the mixture until the butter melts, then take the pot off the burner. Place ½ cup warm water in a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar, and allow the mixture to stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter mixture, eggs and 2 cups of flour. Beat the mixture at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining four. Lightly flour a surface and knead the dough approximately 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Grease a large bowl, and place the dough into the bowl. Turn the dough over once to coat, and then cover with a towel. Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour. Mix ½ cup sugar with the cinnamon in a bowl, and then lightly flour a clean surface. Punch the dough down and then remove half of the dough.

Spread the Cinnamon and Butter on the Cake Dough

Roll the dough out to a 28 x 10-inch rectangle. Soften the butter in the microwave, then spread half the butter on the dough. Sprinkle with half the cinnamon mixture. Roll the rectangle lengthwise, then place it with the seam side down on a greased baking dish. Bring the ends together, and pinch them together to form a ring. Repeat this process with the remaining dough, cinnamon mixture and butter. To conceal the baby trinket in the dough, simply lift one side of the cake and place the trinket underneath. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cover the rolls and allow them to rise 20 minutes.

Bake and Ice the King Cake

Bake the rolls 15 to 20 minutes. Allow the rolls to cool. To make the colored icings, mix the powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of melted butter, the milk and the vanilla extract. Melt the icing in the microwave if it is too thick to drizzle on the cake. Now it’s time to color the icing. The icing should be the traditional Mardi Gras colors, which are purple, gold and green. Separate the icing into 3 separate bowls. Add 2 drops of food coloring at a time, stir, then add more if needed. To make the purple icing, use equal parts of red and blue food coloring. Drizzle the cake with the icing, using alternating bands of color.

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