Mardi Gras Mambo

It is Mardi Gras season over here in Louisiana and I have been considering and unconsidering (yes I know unconsidering isn't a word. Just having a little fun. Work with me :) and reconsidering trying my hand at making a king cake since late January. Yesterday, perhaps in a spurt of madness, I decided to go for it at 7:30 p.m. Why so late???? Good question. I have no idea. It could be because the night before I stayed out till God knows when with a handful of people I have known all my life, and a whole lot of folks I will likely never see again, trying my dead level best to melt a microphone and set of speakers...amps... whatever, with just the sound of my lovely voice. You might be thinking how embarrassing...how debasing....how sad. I would say to you, yes...I feel quite certain it was all three, but now I don't have to go to the other side saying I never sang karaoke, because I was too chicken,  and that counts for something. So there. Take that! :) There are no chickens at this blog! There are only birds of prey soaring ever higher...surveying the earth below...swooping to take what they want...leaving a path of dead microphones and auditory destruction in their path! You get the picture. I digress. Let's move on :)

So between the hours of 7 p.m. and 2 a.m. I made this king cake.

 It was really MUCH easier than I thought it would be, and I learned some things too. Over all , I had a great time making this cake. I just wish I would have started at a more reasonable hour. FYI- 7 p.m. is way to late to start a yeast dough when you have to go to work the next morning :) King cake can not be rushed. It takes time. It has to rise, be punched down, shaped and rise again. It has to be baked, cooled and iced. The procedure while it sounds a little difficult, was amazingly easy, and there are large spaces of time to do things like cleaning or laundry while the dough rises.  Just block it out for a day off, and start earlier than 7 p.m., unless you have the next day off as well.

I used Chef John Besh's recipe for the sweet dough. One thing that stood out to me about this recipe is it doesn't require a dough hook, or even a mixer. It is a pretty simple recipe to accomplish and it is all done by hand!!! I adapted his recipe, which was a traditional plain king cake, to a filled version, because I like cream cheese and other stuff in my king cake. I also made a berry filling to go with the cream cheese. It was very yummy. You can't go wrong with berries. I made the berry filling after the dough, but that is one of the things I learned. So I am going to tell you to make it first and chill it in the refrigerator while you are making the dough, so it will thicken and not be runny when you are trying to fill your king cake. Let's get started.

Berry Filling Ingredients

1/4 cup blueberries

1 lb strawberries hulled

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp water

Wash strawberries and blueberries.

Slice strawberries about 1/4 inch thick, and add along with blueberries to a medium sized sauce pan. Add honey,

brown sugar,

vanilla,

 

 

 lemon juice,

butter,

cinnamon,

                           

and salt to sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat (Sorry salt. Your photo op just didn't work out ). Stir frequently. When all sugar is melted and fruit has cooked down to tender, mash strawberries up a bit with the back of a fork. Next, add the cornstarch to a small bowl. Add the water to the cornstarch and whisk until it is thoroughly combined and looks like milk. Add this mixture to the berry mixture and stir.

Continue cooking and stirring until the berry mixture thickens. Once thickened, transfer berry filling to another container and allow to cool. Once it has cooled some, stick it in the fridge so it will thicken further.

Cream Cheese Filling

1-8 oz package of cream cheese

1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp powdered sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together thoroughly with a rubber spatula and set aside. 

 

JOHN BESH'S KING CAKE (Serves 10–12)

As you knead the dough for this Mardi Gras cake, watch for it to begin to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl. If that doesn’t happen (because the moisture content in flour fluctuates with the humidity), add a spoonful or two more flour.

For the cake:
1 cup lukewarm milk, about 110°F
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp dry yeast
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup melted butter
5 egg yolks, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp grated fresh lemon zest
3 teaspoons cinnamon
Several gratings of fresh nutmeg


*A note about baking and measurements. In baking, measurements are meant to be precise. So just in case you don't know this (because I didn't know it for a long time) there is a difference between a liquid measuring cup and a dry measuring cup. In cooking the difference might prove insignificant, but in baking it could mess you up. Also when filling a liquid measuring cup, get eye level with the measure, like this....

 

Not like this...

The small optical illusion you get when reading it from above the cup can be enough to mess you up. I hate to be so bossy...but ummmm...

For the cake:
Heat your milk to 110°F. I used a candy thermometer for this. It took almost no time at all to get to 110°F.

Pour the warm milk into a large bowl.

Whisk in the (sifted) granulated sugar,

yeast

and a heaping tablespoon of the (sifted) flour

Note* Make sure you measure out the entire amount of flour, and then take the heaping tbsp from this amount. Otherwise you won't know how much your heaping tablespoon took from the total amount. Not that I have personally experienced this or anything. I mean, I don't think I even know anyone who would ever do this, but...it just seems like it could complicate things...so don't do it, just in case :) 

Mix until both the sugar and the yeast have dissolved. Once bubbles have developed on the surface of the milk and it begins to foam, whisk in the butter, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest.

(Note* At the end of this blog I am including a few tips about dealing with eggs, if you're interested)

 

Add the remaining flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a large rubber spatula.

 

After the dough comes together, pulling away from the sides of the bowl, shape it into a large ball. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes.

Come on! You've totally got this. Set the timer on your stove and settle in for the long haul. The recipe says we gotta do it. I tried it first though, and it really wasn't that bad, and besides do you really want to go to the other side saying that you never kneaded dough? or made a king cake? or got flour in your hair? Don't answer that. Let's get to work :)

On a floured surface, push the dough with the heels of your hands.

 

When the dough is in the shape of a giant macaroni shell, like this…

flip it,

 

and push it some more. 15 minutes more.

Push…macaroni…flip…push…repeat :) Just think of the history behind what you are doing. Think of the tradition of making bread through out time. Push…macaroni…flip…push…repeat. Think about how easy you've got it. Your flour came in a bag. You didn't have to grind it up with a mortal and pestle, after all. Push…macaroni…flip…push…repeat. Think about king cake, king cake, king cake!!! Before you know it the timer will be going off and you'll be done :) Then you'll form the dough into a ball, place it back in the bowl,

cover it with plastic wrap and set it aside in a draft free place to let it proof, or rise. Approximately 1 and 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in volume.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. When the dough has doubled in volume (how cool is that?!?) remove it from the bowl and place on a lightly floured work surface. Using your fingers, press the dough into a long, flat, rectangular shape.

Generously spread the surface of the dough with the cream cheese filling, staying about an inch and a 1/2 with in the edges on all sides. Spoon the berry filling in a thinner strip on top of the cream cheese filling down the length of the dough. Fold one edge of the dough rectangle over the filling, long ways. Fold the other edge of the dough over the first edge and pinch the two edges together. You should now have a long tube of filled dough about 3 inches wide.

Next place a large, parchment paper lined and lightly sprayed,  cookie sheet right up to the edge of your dough. Carefully roll your dough tube, a little at a time, on to the cookie sheet, shaping it into a ring as you go. Pinch the two ends of the tube together to form a ring, and set aside to rise until double in size, about 30 minutes.

When the ring has doubled in size,

place it in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes (Mine could have baked a few minutes less. Keep an eye on it. Ovens can vary). While it is baking make the icing.

Icing

2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup condensed milk

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 - 2 oz package toasted slivered almonds

(most places use colored sugar. I just prefer the almonds)

1 fave bean or plastic baby to hide in the cake after baking

Whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and condensed milk, until the icing drops from the whisk in a thin ribbon and as many of the powdered sugar lumps as you can get out are gone. Divide the icing between 3 small bowls.

Add purple die to one, green to another, and a couple of dots of yellow and a small dot of orange to the last one.

Mix each until the color is even.

Put slivered almonds onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, and spread them out evenly. When the cake comes out of the oven put the almonds in for about 10 minutes, but keep an eye on them. They will cook quickly. Toss them around with your hand, being careful not to touch the hot bottom of the cookie sheet, once around the middle of toasting.

Allow the king cake to cool for at least 30 minutes before attempting to transfer to a serving dish, and even then, put your dish right up to the edge of the cookie sheet and be very careful.

Use the parchment to help you move the cake. Ice the cake in alternating stripes of purple, green and gold. Sprinkle the icing with toasted almonds and sugar as you ice the cake, so that the almonds will stick while the icing is still wet. Hide the baby in the bottom edge of the cake and serve.

So, if you are far away from Louisiana this year, or even just curious about what all the Mardi Gras/king cake hub bub is about, add this cake to your to do list, and Let the Good Times Roll! It is a great cake and much easier to make than a lot of versions, as it is all done by hand. Hope you have a happy and safe Mardi Gras :)

Love,

Stephanie H.

P.S. I have had that pair of Mardi Gras beads in my jewelry box since I was a little girl :)

P.S.S. Oh yeah, here a few tid bits about dealing with eggs.

1) In case you didn't know. In general, recipes call for large eggs.

2) Here is how I separate eggs. I think it is easier than using the shell. Some folks may prefer to keep it off of their hands, but when you are separating 100 eggs at a time, trust me, you start to not worry about getting it on your hands :) Here goes.

My Granny would probably whip me if I didn't mention that you should wash your hands :) Hand washing is practically a religion in our family. Get out two bowls and sit them side by side. Crack your egg over the first bowl, and dump the whole egg into the palm of one of your hands, while discarding the shell with the other.

 

Gently move the egg back and forth in between your hands letting the white slip through your fingers into the bowl below.

 

Gently place the separated yolk into the second bowl.

3) If you've ever accidentally gotten a piece of egg shell in your eggs, you know it is practically impossible to get it out with your fingers. It just keeps slipping away.

Here's a trick. Use the larger egg shell to scoop it up. The little piece of shell will go right to the larger shell.

Then you can easily get the shell out of the other shell.

 

The picture is a little blurry, but you get my drift. Special thanks to my lovely assistant MRob for offering his photography stylings during this egg aside.