King Cake

It's not Fat Tuesday in our house without slicing into a delicious King Cake.  Living in Wyoming you can't just run to Kroger and grab one from the bakery.  First of all, there is not a Kroger in these parts.  Second, they have probably never even heard of a King Cake, or country ham for that matter, but we will save that discussion for another post!  As a result I have had to suck it up and make my own in order for us to continue with our favorite Fat Tuesday tradition.  I have to give credit to Homemade by Holman for sharing this delicious recipe.  Happy Mardi Gras everyone!  Enjoy!

Dough:

1/2 cup half and half

2 TBsp butter

1 package active dry yeast

1/3 cup warm water 

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour plus more for rolling
Zest of 1 lemon

Scald half and half over medium heat, remove from heat and add butter.  While mixture cools, stir together warm water, yeast and 1 TBsp of the sugar in bowl of a stand mixer and let stand until foamy.  When half and half mixture is cooled, add to yeast mixture.  Add remaining sugar and egg and beat until well incorporated.  Add salt, nutmeg and flour one cup at a time.  Stir in lemon zest and switch to dough hook attachment.  Knead with dough hook for about 5-7 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.  It will still be fairly sticky.  Oil a deep bowl and transfer dough to bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours until doubled in size.  

Filling:

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 TBsp cinnamon

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup melted butter
2 TBsp bourbon ( I used Woodford Reserve)
1/2 cup raisins

Combine bourbon and raisins in a small bowl and set aside.  Mix together brown sugar, cinnamon and flour and then stir in melted butter.  

Punch down dough and turn out onto a heavily floured surface.  Roll dough out into a large rectangle about 12x16 inches.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Spread filling mixture over dough in a thin layer leaving about a one inch edge free around the whole rectangle.  Drain raisins and sprinkle over filling.  Begin rolling dough like a jelly roll from the wide edge.  Roll tightly and transfer to baking sheet.  Form dough into an oval, seam side down and pinch edges to seal.  Using cooking scissors, cut slices into top of dough about every two inches approximately 1/3 of the way through dough.  Cover with a towel and let rise an additional 45 minutes in a warm place.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake approximately 30 minutes until golden brown.  

Icing:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 TBsp lemon juice

2 TBsp half and half

3/4 cup granulated sugar

Food coloring in green, yellow and purple

Whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice and half and half until smooth.  Pour over cooled king cake.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar and a couple drops of yellow food coloring and stir together.  Transfer to a small bowl or plate.  Add 1/4 cup sugar and a couple drops of green food coloring and stir together.  Transfer to a small bowl or plate.  Add last cup of sugar and purple food coloring and stir to combine.  Sprinkle sugar over icing as desired.