King Cake

Mardi Gras! It's getting close to that time of the year again, and I am pretty stoked about it. For starters, I love Cajun food. And it has become a bit of a tradition since I moved to Colorado, that I throw a big Mardi Gras party for my workgroup on Fat Tuesday.

No Mardi Gras would be complete without the quintessentiall New Orleans treat, the King Cake. Traditionally this cake is shaped like a giant crown, and is decorated with colored sugar in green (symbolizing Faith), purple (for Justice), and gold (for Wealth). A tiny doll (usually the baby Jesus from a Christmas nativity set) is baked into the cake, and tradition holds that whoever gets the doll in their slice of cake must provide the cake next year.

I'm going to make one of these this weekend. Here at 7,800 feet, I think that it just might be the highest altitude that this dessert has ever been prepared.

King Cake

2 pkgs. yeast
1/4 C lukewarm water
1 T honey
2-1/4 cups milk
1/3 C melted shortening
2/3 C sugar
3 eggs
3 teaspoons salt
6 cups of all-purpose flour
1 T. ground cinnamon
1 T. grated lemon peel
1 t. vanilla extract
1" tall plastic baby doll
Melted butter
1 pkg. vanilla glaze or cake frosting
colored sugar

In a small bowl, combine yeast with lukewarm water and honey. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Scald the milk, then allow to cool to lukewarm. In a large glass bowl, add the yeast mixture, scalded milk, melted shortening, sugar, eggs, salt, cinnamon, lemon peel, vanilla extract, and 3 cups of the flour. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth, then fold in remaining flour until a stiff dough forms.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic (the dough will be sticky). Return to glass bowl, cover with a wet towel, and let rise until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and divide into 3 equal portions. Roll each portion out into a long rope about 1/2 inch thick, then braid them together to make a single rope. Coil this braid into a ring, and place on a buttered baking sheet. Hide the toy doll in the cake by slipping it between the baking sheet and the dough. Brush with melted butter, and allow to rise until doubled in size.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then glaze and decorate with colored sugar, gumdrops, sprinkles, candied fruits, etc. Serve warm.