I rarely made king cakes when I was growing up in New Orleans. During Carnival, bakers and pastry chefs in the city turn out thousands of the confections in every shape, size and flavor. Baking my own seemed redundant.
New Orleanians have, as a friend once said, fetishized the Carnival confection. It has become an obsession, with photos flooding social media channels and king cake parties celebrated almost daily in homes, offices and schools.
The frenzy is warranted. The colorful treats are traditionally enjoyed only during Carnival season, which begins each year on Jan. 6 – also known as the Three Kings’ Day, Epiphany or Twelfth Night – and ends on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday.
That raucous holiday can fall anywhere from Feb. 3 through March 9. It’s always the day before Ash Wednesday, which is always 46 days before Easter, a movable feast on the Christian liturgical calendar. This year, Mardi Gras is Feb. 25. So, happily ensconced in Washington, where king cake mania is considerably less frenzied, I decided to try my hand at baking one again.
When I mentioned it to a colleague at The Washington Post, she said that she liked the New Orleans-style cakes because “they are like big cinnamon rolls.” I started to roll my eyes but checked myself. If your experience with king cakes is through mail-order, that is probably all you’ve tasted. Cinnamon roll-style king cakes are so common now, they are considered traditional.
Crescent City king cake bakers say New Orleans-area grocery stores began selling and shipping the cinnamon-flavored king cakes in the 1980s, making them more popular and readily available.
These days, however, cinnamon seems tame. New Orleans king cakes come in an ever-expanding array of styles and flavors, stuffed and plain – too many to list. (King cake babka, anyone?) And, beyond New Orleans, the confections vary, by tradition, from city to city and country to country. For instance, the traditional French galette de rois, also popular in New Orleans, is made of puff pastry and almond paste.
Everyone has a favorite. I prefer simpler cake.
Before the cinnamon explosion in New Orleans, the king cake was more bread-like. In “The Picayune’s Creole Cookbook: Sesquicentennial Tradition Edition,” which was published in 1987 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Times-Picayune newspaper, the recipe mentions flour, eggs, butter, yeast, salt and candies to decorate. No cinnamon.
I wanted one along those lines, one that would call to mind the cakes that I remembered as a child – an old-school, brioche-style that gets much of its sweetness from the purple, green and gold sanding sugar sprinkles on top.
Still, even a traditionalist like me had to admit that the cake I remembered was a little dry. In stepped Chaya Conrad of Bywater Bakery in New Orleans. Her version of the cake was inspired by the same ones I treasured as a child – the ones made popular by the once-omnipresent McKenzie’s bakeries in New Orleans.
Conrad zeroed in on what those pastries were missing. The McKenzie’s cakes, she said, were too simple for modern customs and tastes.
“That’s such a plain king cake,” she said. “People expect a little bit more. I didn’t want to do cinnamon. I knew I wanted to do something that wasn’t its own filling, but something that had some extra love in it.”
So she added what she calls her “ooey, gooey, butter schmear” – a light filling that goes inside of the cake before baking. She augments that with a healthy shake of colored sprinkles to give the cake more flavor, moisture and color – or “a little jazz,” as she said.
We’ve come up with a recipe that’s a bit less involved than the 48-hour prep Conrad uses for the cakes she sells – 10,000 in 2019. This one will take you about four hours to prepare. Luckily, more than half of that time is spent waiting for the dough to proof.
I also created my own version of Conrad’s schmear. It is optional, but I highly recommend it, because it adds a little sweetness and moisture to the otherwise bready cake. Also, royal icing is traditional, but I find it one-dimensional and too sweet, so I made a tangy buttermilk-yogurt glaze, which I now love and plan to use on other cakes as well.
In New Orleans and many other cities, small plastic babies, trinkets or fèves are tucked inside the cake after baking. When the cake is sliced, whoever “gets the baby” is supposed to host the next party. If you want to embrace this tradition, you can find plastic king cake babies – and the traditional purple (for justice), green (for faith) and gold (for power) sugar crystals – online. The sugars also are available at craft shops. If you do insert a baby, just be sure to explain the tradition to any guests, so they can be on the lookout for it.
Conrad has one more tip: If you’re going to make a king cake at home, give yourself time.
“It’s not something that you can really rush,” she said. “It might be one of the reasons people don’t make it home, but it’s worth it.”
New Orleans King Cake Photo by Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post
NEW ORLEANS KING CAKE
Active: 1 hour 20 minutes | Total: 4 hours
12 servings
This traditional brioche-style king cake gets a modern twist from a buttery schmear that goes inside the cake before baking and a tangy glaze that goes on top. Sprinkle purple, green and gold sanding sugars on top to reflect the traditional Mardi Gras colors. This recipe is adapted from Saveur.
Storage Notes: The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
Where to Buy: Purple, green and gold sanding sugars can be purchased online, or at craft or baking stores.
FOR THE DOUGH
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar, divided
1/4 cup (60 milliliters) water, heated to 115 degrees
1/2 cup (118 milliliters) whole milk
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
2 3/4 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick/113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
FOR THE FILLING
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick/28 grams) unsalted butter, melted and completely cooled to semisolid state
1/2 cup (113 grams) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup (38 grams) confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Finely grated zest from 1/2 large lemon (1/2 teaspoon)
FOR THE DECORATION
2 cups (170 grams) confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons (38 grams) whole fat plain Greek yogurt
Finely grated zest from 1/2 large lemon (1/2 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon whole-fat buttermilk or milk, plus more as needed
Purple, green and gold sanding sugars (optional)
Make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the yeast, 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar and 1/4 cup water on medium speed until the yeast dissolves, about 2 minutes. If necessary, whisk by hand to reach down deep into the bowl. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
Add the remaining granulated sugar, milk, light brown sugar and vanilla. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, lightly beat together the egg and egg yolk and add to the mixer bowl. Beat the mixture on low speed until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes.
Turn the mixer off and switch to the dough hook attachment. Add the flour and salt. Mix on medium speed until the dough just comes together, about 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Then, knead the dough for 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the butter and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and all the butter is incorporated. The dough should begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl after about 6 minutes. If the dough does not pull away, use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, forming the dough into a ball.
Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and place in a warm spot to rise until the dough has doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Make the filling: In a small bowl, combine the melted and cooled butter, softened cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest. Whisk until thoroughly combined. The filling should be glossy and easily spreadable.
Shape the cake: Punch down the dough. Place it on a heavily floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a large circle, 16 to 18 inches in diameter and 1/4-inch thick. Punch a hole in the center of the circle with your finger. Then widen the circle to about 3 inches. Using the back of a spoon or an offset spatula, spread the filling evenly around the ring of dough, halfway between the outer edge and inner circle, leaving about a 1-inch border on each side.
Gradually fold the outside edge of the dough over the filling to meet the inner edge, continuing until the filling is covered, widening the center hole as you go. The hole should be about 8 inches wide when finished. Make sure the seams of the dough are well sealed by gently pinching the dough as needed. If necessary, dampen your fingers a bit and pinch to seal the dough. This prevents the filling from seeping out during baking.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and place it next to the dough circle. Lift one end of the dough circle and place it on the sheet pan; then lift the other end onto the pan. Gently reform the dough into an oblong or rectangle on the pan, leaving at least an inch or two from the rim. Check to see that all seams remain sealed. Cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature until slightly puffed.
Half an hour before the cake finishes proofing, position the rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Remove the towel from the cake. Bake until golden brown and dry to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Using the parchment paper, lift the cake from the sheet pan and move it to a wire rack. Let the cake cool completely before decorating, at least 1 hour.
While the cake is cooling, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, yogurt, lemon zest and vanilla. Add the buttermilk or milk gradually, whisking until the glaze is smooth and fluid enough to drizzle over the cake. Add more liquid, 1 teaspoon at a time, as needed to achieve the proper consistency.
Line a serving platter with wax or parchment paper. Transfer the cake to the platter.
Drizzle the glaze generously onto the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Sprinkle the cake with the sanding sugars, alternating strips of purple, green and gold. Allow the glaze to set for about 10 minutes. Gently lift the decorated cake and slide it off the paper on to a platter.
Slice and serve.
Nutrition| Calories: 360; Total Fat: 14 g; Saturated Fat: 9 g; Cholesterol: 60 mg; Sodium: 85 mg; Carbohydrates: 53 g; Dietary Fiber: 1 g; Sugars: 24 g; Protein: 6 g.
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