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King Cake


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Cream Cheese King Cake Buns. Or whatever they should be called.

I used a new recipe for King Cake the week before last and was not too thrilled with how it turned out (I added too much flour to the dough and it was a bit dry, plus it leaked the oh-so-delicious filling) so I was wanting to remake the recipe. Then, I had a dream Thursday night that, instead of baking it as a single ring, I cut it into individual pieces and baked them in jumbo muffin pans like I do with my favorite sticky bun recipe. So Friday evening I turned a dream into reality (nothing like dreaming small). The buns came out okay. Not sure if I'll ever make it that way again -- too much "edge" for my tastes. But the cream cheese filling is a good alternative for when I'm making sticky buns and there is someone who does not like nuts (my bro-in-law) or cinnamon (my dear Mrs. S).

Please share your King Cake recipe. I've tried, for the past two years -- with no success whatsoever -- to find the right (New Orleans-style) recipe. My friend loves it, but it's just not doing it for me: I threw away my slice after two bites; he ate the rest of the cake with no complaints, only compliments.

If I start now, I'll have the rest of the year to perfect.

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Please share your King Cake recipe. I've tried, for the past two years -- with no success whatsoever -- to find the right (New Orleans-style) recipe. My friend loves it, but it's just not doing it for me: I threw away my slice after two bites; he ate the rest of the cake with no complaints, only compliments.

If I start now, I'll have the rest of the year to perfect.

The recipe I've been making recently is the one from King Arthur Flour... click.

Just be sure not to add much more flour to the dough than the 3-1/2 cups. The dough will seem really soft because of all the melted butter, but will firm up as it cools during the first rise. Also, I did not use the Fiori di Sicilia flavoring the recipe calls for because I'm not a big fan of things that taste of orange. Instead, I used some of KA's sweet dough flavor (the powdered kind that it appears they no longer sell) in the dough and just vanilla in the filling.

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When I lived in New Orleans, we always got the cinnamon cakes from MacKenzie's, but they have, sadly, gone out of business. I wish I had a good recipe. I've even got a little porcelain baby to bake into one. If you find something that looks good, please share!

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From Buzz Bakery:

Buzz On The Bayou

Classic Mardi Gras King Cakes

Hundreds of thousands of King Cakes are eaten during Mardi Gras each year in New Orleans. In fact, a Mardi Gras party would not be authentic without the traditional King Cake as the center of the party.

The cake is made with a rich Danish dough, baked and covered with a sugar topping in Mardi Gras colors; purple representing justice, green representing faith, and gold representing power.

Originally objects such as coins, beans, pecans, and peas were hidden inside of every King Cake. Wealthy Louisiana plantation owners in the later 1800s would sometimes put a precious stone or jewel in their King Cakes. In the mid-1900s, a small plastic baby became the symbol of this Holy Day and was placed inside of each King Cake. The New Orleans tradition is that each person takes a piece of cake hoping to find the plastic baby inside. The recipient of the plastic baby is "crowned" King or Queen for the day and that person is obligated to host the following year's party and supply the King Cake.

Buzz is unleashing its own version of the classic King Cake, complete with hidden plastic baby, for you to enjoy at your own Mardi Gras party this year. Simply allow us 48 hours notice and we'll make you king for the day with your very own cake. | $25 - Please arrange orders in advance.

Buzz

901 Slaters Lane

Alexandria Virginia 22314

(703) 600-2899

...........now, where to get paczki??

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I've tried one billion, one hundered million non-new-orleans king cakes. When not "home" I get these shipped to me. Always good and always not squished:
http://paulspastry.com/

(small print: yes, they are in picayune ms but really, it's just an hour from new orleans and all those people are there b/c they wanted land and/or less water inslide their homes).

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I'll take this moment to whine once again about the demise of MacKenzie's. :( Next, I'll try to convince the bakers at the Happy Tart that they should come up with a GF king cake so I can share with Mr. lperry. Can't hurt, right?
Are you from New Orleans? I am. I miss McKenzie's so much. Cream puffs, turtles, pies, king cake....everything was delicious.
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Are you from New Orleans? I am. I miss McKenzie's so much. Cream puffs, turtles, pies, king cake....everything was delicious.

Florida native, but a Newcomb Alumna. Every weekend I'd treat myself to something, usually the turtle cookies. *sniff*

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Florida native, but a Newcomb Alumna. Every weekend I'd treat myself to something, usually the turtle cookies. *sniff*

The turtle cookies were awesome. Some places try to replicate them, but no one gets it quite right. When I was in high school I worked for a while at Dorignac's and back in the day there was a McKenzie's outpost there. I ate quite a lot of stuff while working, back when i was young enough to be able to eat like that without getting fat.
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