Cinnamon & Sugar Mardi Gras King Cake
Try this delicious cinnamon and sugar king cake recipe from But First, Cookies!
Ingredients
King Cake Dough
- 2 packets active dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp sugar granulated
- ⅔ cup water hot from tap, not boiling
- 1 cup milk scalded
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup sugar granulated
- 6 cups flour all purpose
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
King Cake Filling
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- ⅓ cup flour all purpose
- 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
King Cake Glaze
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- ½ Tbsp water or milk, as preferred
- ½ cup simple syrup (½ cup water + ½ cup granulated sugar)
Instructions
- In a large (2 cup) measuring cup, combine the 2 packets of yeast with the hot water and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Mix gently and allow ten minutes for the yeast to proof.
- While the yeast proofs, scald the milk (refer to the hints in the article if you need help). Add the butter to the scalded milk and allow it to melt completely.
- Combine the scalded milk and the yeast mixture in a large mixing bowl. Beat in the eggs, ½ cup white sugar, and nutmeg on medium power, until fully combined. Add the flour one cup at a time, mixing with dough hook attachment(s) until the dough is combined.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and kneed for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Leave the bowl to rise in a warm place for 1½-2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375° and cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, ⅓ cup flour, and cinnamon. Melt the ⅓ cup butter in a small bowl. Punch down the dough and roll it out into a rectangle about 12x18. Use a basting brush to coat the rectangle with the melted butter, then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the dough, pressing it gently into the dough to adhere it. Roll the dough into a tube and cut off the edges to keep them even. Transfer the tube onto the baking sheet and shape it into a ring, using any extra melted butter to stick the edges of the ring together.
- Use a sharp knife to cut slits into the dough ring every few inches, and then bake for 35 minutes or until cake is golden.
- Once baked, carefully lift the cake from the sheet and onto a baking rack to cool. Lift the rack so that you can see the bottom of the cake, cut a slit in bottom, and insert plastic baby about 1 inch into the cake. Allow cake to cool fully.
- Brush a section of the cake with the simple syrup and then sprinkle colored sanding sugar on the section. Repeat on the next section with 2nd color sugar, and again with the 3rd color. Repeat pattern until cake is covered.
- Make the confectioner's sugar glaze (it should be reasonably thick) and scoop it into a decorating bag with a #3 tip (or into a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off). Cover the cake top with zig-zags of glaze and allow 15 minutes for glaze to harden before serving.