King Cake

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In honor of Fat Tuesday here is a recipe for King Cake! Yes, it looks more like a huge bagel than a king cake… Not the prettiest sweet treat—oh well. It still tastes delicious!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 ounces of sour cream
• slightly less than ¼ cup (50 grams) sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 (.25 ounce) envelope active dry yeast
• 1 ½ teaspoons white sugar
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• ¼  cup warm water
• 1 egg
• 3 ¼ (about) cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon of milk, to brush on top at the end

Cook the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until butter melts. Cool slightly.

Dissolve yeast and 1 ½ teaspoons of sugar in ¼ cup of warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Add the butter/sour cream mixture, the egg, and 1 cup of flour. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth (about a minute). Gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough.

Kneed the dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic-y, about 10 minutes (your arms will be very tired). Put in a greased bowl, turning to grease the dough all over. Cover and let rise in a warm place, until it doubles in size (about 1 hour).

Punch the dough down, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 28x10 inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter all over the rolled dough. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle this on top of the butter. Roll the dough over itself like a jelly-roll. Bring ends together to make an oval ring, pinching the edges together to seal. Cover and let rise for about 20 minutes.

Brush with a bit of milk all over the top and bake in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

ICING

• 2  cups  powdered sugar
• 2  tablespoons  butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2  tablespoons milk

Stir together first 4 ingredients. Stir in 1 tablespoons milk, adding additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until spreading consistency. Spread/pour over cake when it is still warm and decorate with colored sugars (purple, yellow, and green).