King Bundt Cake

Mardi Gras is coming!  Not that this means too much for us in Canada.  We're still dealing with snow and ice.

But this does not mean that we can't celebrate it!

King Cake has deep roots in theology.  This cake is generally served between King's Day (January 6th, also known as the Twelfth Night) and Fat Tuesday and is served during this time to celebrate the coming of the Three Kings (when they came to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus).

The cake is also typically topped with a simple icing colored in green, gold/yellow, and purple - which also contains quite a bit of symbolism.  Green for faith, gold/yellow for power, and purple for justice.  These are also the colors of Mardi Gras.

King cakes are baked sometimes with coins or small toys inside - but mostly there is a small, plastic baby baked into the cake.  Whoever finds the baby is supposed to have good luck for a year.

There was no baby baked into the cake this time.  lol

I made this before and when I told my sister-in-law that I was making it again, she said "you already made that!".  But - the truth is - I messed it up.  The first time I made it, I wasn't really paying attention and tossed in active dry yeast instead of instant yeast.  It actually ended up rising and turned out pretty good - but I wasn't totally 100% please with it.  So we're revisiting the recipe.

King Cake - isn't cake.  If you hadn't already guessed from my comment about yeast.  lol.  King Cake is actually a sweetened yeast bread, sometimes filled with cinnamon, chocolate, etc.  In this particular case, there is a ground pecan, cinnamon, and sugar filling spread on the bread and then it's rolled up like a cinnamon bun, formed into a circle, and baked in a bundt pan.

And it's delicious.

Gather everything up.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the milk,

And the eggs,

And whisk together with the melted butter.  Make sure the butter is not too hot and that you whisk constantly as you're adding it to the milk and eggs - you don't want to cook the eggs.

Then add the flour,

The sugar,

The yeast,

The salt,

Then, with a wooden spoon, stir everything together until it just comes together.

Then turn the mixer on low and let the stand mixer do the work!  The dough is going to look SUPER sticky - but don't add any more flour.

Once done mixing, scrape the dough out of the stand mixer bowl into a greased bowl.  I used a sturdy silicone spatula - one that doesn't have much flex.  

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Then get the filling ready.  Gently toast the pecans in a pan - making sure not to burn.  Use low heat and swish the pecans around constantly.  Just be patient.  They'll start to be fragrant when they're toasting. 

Pay attention when you pull them off the heat too.  If you're going to leave them in the pan to cool, make sure you swish the pecans around a couple of times so they don't burn (because they will - trust me).

Combine the pecans and brown sugar in a bowl.  

Add some cinnamon.

And set aside until ready to use.

When the dough has finished its rise, roll out into a large rectangle.  

Gently rub a little water (not much!) across the surface of the dough.  Then, spread the pecan mixture across the surface - leaving a small border around the edges.

Then, just as if you were making cinnamon buns, start rolling the dough.  I suggest rolling towards you.  Once the dough is rolled into a tube, pinch the edge shut.

Then, lift the tube into a greased bundt pan seam side up.  Let rise in the pan for 30 minutes.

After baking and allowing the cake to cool, make the icing.

Combine the icing sugar and the milk.  It won't seem like enough milk, but just keep stirring and the icing with come together.

Divide the icing sugar mixture into three bowls and color in yellow, green, and purple.

This came out with a really soft tender bread and the pecan filling is really fantastic!  Not gooey like a cinnamon bun - but essentially the same thing.

Today is Fat Tuesday - or Shrove Tuesday - and I think this is fantastic way to get ready for Lent to start.

Enjoy!  I hope you find yourself at a Mardi Gras party or two!


King Bundt Cake
1 cup whole milk
3 eggs
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups pecans, toasted and ground fine
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups icing sugar
3 Tablespoons whole milk
Food color in yellow, green, and purple

1. To make the dough: whisk the milk, eggs, and butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer.  
2. Add the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt to the butter mixture and stir together with a wooden spoon until just combined.  The mixture will look dry.
3. Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and set the bowl in place.  Turn the mixer to low or medium-low and mix for 10 minutes.  The dough will look sticky and glossy.  Scrape the dough out of the stand mixer bowl into a greased bowl and cover will plastic wrap.  Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
4. To make the filling: combine the pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon and mix together.  Set aside.
5. Assemble the cake: spray a bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.  Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to and 18 x 14 inch rectangle, making sure the long edge is to the counter.
6. Lightly spray the surface of the dough with water (or wet your hands and rub the surface with water).  Spread the pecan mixture evenly across the dough.
7. Start rolling the dough tightly into a tube (along the long edge).  Pinch the edge into a sealed seam.  Transfer the tube into the bundt pan, seam side up, and place the ends of the tube together and pinch closed.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1 hour.
8. Bake the cake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown and an instant read thermometer  reads 190 degrees F when inserted in the center of the cake - about 30 - 35 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer the cake out of the pan, seam side down, on to a wire rack.  Allow to cool completely.
9. Prepare the icing:  Whisk the icing sugar and 3 Tablespoons milk in a bowl until smooth.  Divide the icing between three small bowls and color with the food coloring.  Drizzle in alternating sections over the top of the cake (it may be slow, but it will "fall" down the sides of the cake).  
10. Serve at room temperature.  Leftovers should be tightly wrapped or stored in an airtight container for up to three days.

Source:  Brown Eyed Baker