~ From my Garden Kitchen
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Mardi Gras King Cake
4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 4 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 pkgs. Fleishmann's Rapid Rise Yeast 3/4 cup milk 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup butter or margarine 2 large eggs 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 tiny plastic baby * *Obviously, never give a young child a piece, unless you are absolutely certain the plastic baby isn't in it!
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In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, l/4 cup sugar, salt and undissolved yeast. Heat milk, water and butter until very warm. Add to dry ingredients and beat for 2 minutes with electric mixer at medium speed. Add eggs and 1/2 cup flour. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Stir in remaining flour to make a stiff batter. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate 2 to 24 hours.
Punch dough down. Remove dough to lightly floured surface. Divide into 3 equal pieces. Roll each into a 28- by 4-inch rectangle. Brush melted butter over each rectangle; sprinkle evenly with remaining 3/4 cup sugar and ground cinnamon. Beginning at long end, roll each up tightly as for a jelly-roll, pinch seams to seal to form ropes. (This is a good time to tuck that little baby doll in there.) Braid ropes; form braid into an oval. Pinch ends together to seal. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 4 hours.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25-to-30 minutes or until golden. Remove from baking sheet; let cool on wire rack. Brush liberally with glaze.** Sprinkle with colored sugars before the glaze hardens. Sprinkle them in solid, wide stipes, alternating colors all the way around the cake.**Powdered sugar glaze:
In medium bowl, combine 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 2-to-3 tablespoons milk or light cream, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and 3 drops almond extract. Stir until smooth.To make it really festive, put a handful of Mardi Gras beads and doubloons in the hole in the center. (Mardi Gras Gaudy!)
King Cakes today are also baked with a wide assortment of fillings inside, such as apple, lemon, or strawberry.
Enjoy!
If you're interested in knowing more about King Cakes, I have another page I created during Mardi Gras with this recipe and more about the King Cake, including its history and meaning. You can see it here ~ Mardi Gras King Cake.
( A word of warning ... Mardi Gras music! )