Mardi Gras King Cake Recipe
Mardi Gras, a holiday famously celebrated in New Orleans, falls on March 5. This day, otherwise known as “Fat Tuesday,” is the day before Ash Wednesday, meaning it is the day before Christian Lent. For that reason, Mardi Gras is a day dedicated to indulging in rich food for the last time until Easter. If you’re planning on celebrating this day at our special events venue in Westchester, you should participate by bringing a traditional dessert eaten on this day: King Cake. (Related topics: venue rental Westchester, holiday party facility in Westchester)
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 ½ cups flour
- 2 ¼ teaspoons rapid rise yeast
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 6 tablespoons unsalted, softened butter
Filling
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons unsalted, softened butter
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Extra
- Green, purple, and gold sugar
- Small plastic baby
Directions
- For the dough, mix 2 ½ cups of flour and 2 ¼ teaspoons of yeast. Next, heat the milk, sugar, and salt over heat until the sugar is dissolved. Using a mixer, mix the dry mixture with the wet mixture, adding the eggs one at a time. Then, add the remaining 1 cup of flour and softened butter. The dough should be kneaded on low for 8 minutes, adding flour if it’s too sticky and water if it’s too dry. Cover the dough and place it in the fridge for an hour.
- For the filling, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and softened butter together.
- After the dough is finished chilling, roll it into a 10 x 20 rectangle, spreading the filling on half of the long side of the dough, and then folding the dough in half. Next, cut the dough into three strips and braid them in the shape of a circle. Let the dough rise for about an hour and then bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let the cake cool and then insert the plastic baby through the bottom of the cake.
- To make the icing, mix the milk, vanilla, and sugar together. Apply the icing to the cooled cake and then top the cake with colorful sugar.
If you´re wondering why there is a plastic baby hidden in the cake, it´s because it´s a Mardi Gras tradition, which represents luck and prosperity to whoever finds it in their slice of cake. When you’re celebrating Mardi Gras at our special events venue in Westchester, you can use this recipe to impress the other guests.