Happy Fat Tuesday!

My son’s 4th grade class didn’t celebrate St. Valentine’s Day this year.  Instead, they are going to have a Mardi Gras feast today.  He is supposed to bring finger food, so I cut up the required salami and cheese, but we also made a King Cake for his class celebration.  My son was excited to help me make the cake, and he really enjoyed decorating it, but he was disappointed I didn’t bake a baby in the cake.  I didn’t want some kid choking on a plastic baby inside his or her piece of cake. 

I found this recipe on the Southern Living website.  This was an easy recipe to follow, and I like how it made two cakes.  My daughter wouldn't have been happy if my son had taken the only King Cake to school, so the two cakes saved me from having to double the recipe.  This King Cake is basically a cinnamon roll cake with icing and sprinkles, and we all liked the cake.  We’ll see how my son’s 4th grade class likes it!

Mardi Gras King Cake
Adapted from Southern Living
1 16-ounce container sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 ¼-ounce envelopes active dry yeast
½ cup warm water (100°F to 110°)
1 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
6 to 6 ½ cups bread flour
1/3 cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
Creamy Glaze
Purple, yellow and green tinted sugar sprinkles

Place the first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan over low heat, and cook stirring often until the butter has melted.  Set aside and cool the mixture to 100° to 110°.  Mix the yeast, ½ cup warm water and 1 tablespoons of sugar in a 1 cup glass measuring cup, and let stand for 5 minutes.

In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer, beat the sour cream mixture, the yeast mixture, the eggs, and 2 cups of flour on medium speed until smooth.  Reduce the mixer to low and add the remaining 4 cups of flour and beat until a soft dough forms.  Add the extra ½ cup of flour if the dough is too sticky.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.  Place in a large well-greased bowl.  Turn the dough over once in the bowl to grease the top of the dough.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down, and divide it in half.  Roll each portion into a 12 x 22 inch rectangle.  Mix together the softened butter, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and sprinkle half the mixture over each portion of dough. Starting on the long side, roll each portion of dough pinching together the seam.  Place one dough roll on a greased baking sheet seam side down, and for the roll into a oval pinching the two ends together.  Repeat with the second roll.

Cover and let rise in a warm draft free spot for 20 to 30 minutes.  Bake the cakes at 375° for 14 to 16 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool the cakes on the pans on wire racks for about 10 minutes.  Drizzle Creamy Glaze evenly over the warm cakes.  Decorate the cakes with the colored sugar sprinkles.  Cool completely before serving.

Creamy Glaze
Adapted from Southern Living
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 4 tablespoons milk

Stir together the powdered sugar, melted butter, lemon juice and vanilla.   Add the 2 tablespoons of milk, and adding more milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze is spreadable.