King Cake
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 45 minutes plus 2 hours rising time (can be split over 2 days)
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Serves: 12 people
- 100ml/3.5ozs. lukewarm water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 420g/14.8ozs. bread flour plus extra for rolling
- 4 tablespoons white sugar
- 1.5 teaspoons instant dried yeast
- 3 eggs, room temperature, beaten
- 90g/3ozs. butter, cubed, softened
- Egg wash to glaze (beaten egg)
For filling
- 115g/1 stick butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup/220g/7.7ozs brown sugar
- 1 cup/130g/4ozs pecans, toasted and finely ground
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
For frosting
- 335g/12ozs. icing or powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons/10g/0.35ozs softened butter
- 7-8 tablespoons milk or cream
-
- 5 tablespoons each of desiccated coconut or sugar tinted green, purple and yellow
Step 1 - Mix the salt in the water and stir to melt. In a large bowl of an electric mixer add the flour, sugar, yeast and eggs and stir to combine. Add the water and knead for 3-4 minutes until it has come together to form a dough. Then add the butter in 3-4 lots and knead for another 6 minutes or until you get a window pane effect or the dough is elastic and you can stretch it gently without it breaking.
Step 2 - Form into a ball and place in a greased bowl and cover and allow to rise to 2-3 times its size (about an hour). While it is rising make the filling and allow it to cool. Mix the butter, brown sugar, finely ground pecans and cinnamon together in a large bowl. It will look like a lot but it's not I promise.
Step 3 - Punch down the dough and roll it out to become a thin, large rectangle (mine was around 50x40cms/20x16inches). If you want you can trim the rectangle and this gives a neater end result. Spread the filling all over the base leaving a one inch border at the top on the longer side. Add the token in now. Roll up from the bottom to form a log and using wet hands seal the border. Shape into an oval and use wet hands to pinch the ends together. I used a Bake Snake to keep the border on the inside and outside. Allow to rise for 30-45 minutes.
Step 4 - Preheat oven to 170C/338F and brush the bread with eggwash. Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the coconut or sugar by placing 1.5 tablespoons of sugar or coconut in a zip lock bag and adding some food colouring in. Rub together with your hands to distribute the colour.
Step 5 - In a food processor whizz the icing sugar so that all lumps disappear (I hate sifting). Then add the butter and milk or cream (start with 7 tablespoons and then add another tablespoon if it needs it). Place in a piping bag and pipe all over the king cake. Then add the tinted sugar or coconut in sections.