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The New Orleans carnival season begins on January 6, or Twelfth Night, and ends with the revel of Mardi Gras, on the day before Lent begins. Kings' cake is baked for Twelfth Night celebrations-and the lucky person who finds the pecan or bean in his slice of cake is "king or queen for a day". Traditionally, the cake is decorated with sugar tinted in the classic carnival colors: green, purple and yellow.
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| What You Need: |
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CAKE
½ cup lukewarm water (110 °F to 115°F)
2 packages active dry yeast
2 teaspoons plus ½ cup granulated sugar
3½ to 4½ cups unsifted flour
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon peel
½ cup lukewarm milk (110°F to 115°F)
5 egg yolks
8 tablespoons butter (1 quarter pound stick), cut into ½-inch bits and softened, plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened
½ cup finely chopped candied citron
1 shelled pecan half or uncooked dried bean
1 egg, lightly beaten with
1 tablespoon milk
SUGARS
Green, purple and yellow food-coloring pastes
12 tablespoons granulated sugar
ICING
3 cups confectioners' sugar
¼ cup strained fresh lemon juice
3 to 6 tablespoons water
2 candied cherries cut lengthwise into halves
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| How To Cook: |
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CAKE:
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1. To make the cake, pour the lukewarm water into a small shallow bowl and sprinkle the yeast and 2 teaspoons of the granulated sugar over it. Let the yeast and sugar rest for 2 to 3 minutes, then stir to mix the ingredients well. Set in a warm, draft-free place (such as an unlighted oven) for about 10 minutes, or until the yeast bubbles up and the mixture almost doubles in volume.
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2. Combine 3½ cups of flour, the remaining ½ cup of granulated sugar, the nutmeg and the salt, and sift them into a deep mixing bowl. Stir in the lemon peel, then make a well in the center and into it pour the yeast mixture and the milk.
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3. Add the egg yolks and, with a large wooden spoon, gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the liquid ones. When the mixture is smooth, beat in the 8 tablespoons of butter bits, a tablespoonful at a time. Continue to beat for about 2 minutes longer, or until the dough can be gathered into a medium-soft ball.
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4. Place the ball on a lightly floured surface and knead, pushing the dough down with the heels of your hands, pressing it forward and folding it back on itself. As you knead, incorporate up to 1 cup more flour, sprinkling it over the ball by the tablespoonful. When the dough is no longer sticky, knead it for about 10 minutes longer, or until it is smooth, shiny and elastic.
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5. With a pastry brush, spread 1 tablespoon of softened butter evenly over the inside of a large bowl. Set the dough in the bowl and turn it about to butter the entire surface. Drape the bowl with a kitchen towel and put it in the draft-free place for 1½ hours, or until the dough doubles in volume.
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6. Brush a large baking sheet with the remaining tablespoon of softened butter. Punch the dough down with a blow of your fist and place it on a lightly floured surface. Scatter the citron over the top, knead the dough until the citron is well distributed, then pat and shape it into a cylinder about 14 inches long. Loop the cylinder onto the buttered baking sheet and pinch the ends together to form a ring.
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7. Press the pecan half or dried bean gently into the ring so that it is completely hidden by the dough. Drape the dough with the towel again and set it in the draft-free place to rise for about 45 minutes, or until the ring doubles in volume.
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8. Preheat the oven to 375°F. (If you have used the oven to let the dough rise, transfer the ring to another warm place to rest while the oven heats.) Brush the top and sides of the ring with the egg-and-milk mixture and bake the Kings' cake in the middle of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Slide the cake onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
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SUGARS:
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1. Meanwhile, prepare the colored sugars. Squeeze a dot of green coloring paste onto the center of the palm of one hand. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar over the paste and rub your palms together briskly until the sugar is evenly green.
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2. Add more paste if the color is too light and rub the sugar a few minutes longer. Place the green sugar on a saucer or piece of wax paper and repeat the entire procedure again to color 2 more tablespoons of the sugar.
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3. Wash your hands, squeeze a blob of purple food coloring paste on one palm and in a similar fashion color 4 tablespoons of the granulated sugar purple.
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4. Wash your hands again and, using the yellow food coloring paste, tint the remaining 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar yellow. Set the green, purple and yellow sugars aside.
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ICING:
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1. When the cake has cooled, prepare the icing. Combine the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of the water in a deep bowl and stir until the icing mixture is smooth.
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2. If the icing is too stiff to spread easily, beat in up to 3 tablespoons more water, 1 teaspoonful at a time. With a small metal spatula, spread the icing over the top of the cake, allowing it to run irregularly down the sides.
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3. Sprinkle the colored sugars over the icing immediately, forming a row of purple, yellow and green strips, each about 2 inches wide, on both sides of the. Arrange two cherry halves at each end of the cake, pressing them gently into the icing.
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NOTE:
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Food coloring pastes are available at bakers' supply stores. Do not use liquid food coloring, which makes the sugar dissolve and clump and does not color the granules evenly.
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To Make: one 12-inch ring
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