27 January 2013

king cake...got it!


I think I have mastered a version of the king cake, and this is how I did it.

I used the recipe for brioche dough from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking, adding a few teaspoons of cinnamon to the dough. I would have added orange zest as well had I been in possession of an orange or two.


The dough rose for a couple of hours and then I put it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, I took about half of the dough, rolled it out and filled with a cane syrup, brown sugar mixture from this online recipe. I omitted the Allspice because it's not something available in my pantry. What is Allspice, anyway?

I rolled it as I would for cinnamon rolls and then, forming an oval on my baking stone, connected the two ends.



And...genius...I made the glaze with powdered sugar and Makers Mark whiskey, an idea from the same recipe.

Laissez le bon ton rouler. It's carnival time.

.........

Steen's is a dark, rich syrup made in Louisiana from pure sugarcane juice.  Did you know that many parts of South Louisiana are covered in sugarcane fields?  It makes a perfect filling for this king cake...amazingly perfect. I brought a couple of cans back with me last summer, so I did have this ingredient in my pantry. I'm looking forward to finding other creative uses for it.




5 comments:

  1. Dana! The cake looks amazing! You rock! I think we can now call you the Queen of King Cakes! Look at that perfect crust! So flakey on the inside. I have never heard of using cane syrup for the inside of cakes, but looking at the cake you can tell the two are a perfect marriage.

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    1. Grazie! I've come a long way from the days of using refrigerated cinnamon roll dough!
      Can you get Steen's in GA?
      D

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  2. Yay! Looks wonderful! I've never tried or seen in real life one of these cakes - actually i think it was on your blog that I learned of their existence. Glad you mastered the recipe and can bring some "home" to Italy.

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    1. They are a long lost descendant of the ones found in France, I suppose. After tasting a bit of the almond filled puff pastry....well, i might concede that it is much, much better!
      D

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  3. I don't know , but if any place has it I bet whole foods does. I will have to check! I am drooling just looking at the photo again.

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