Ingredients
Sweet Dough:
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 2 (¼-ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
- ½ cup white sugar, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Filling:
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- ⅔ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Glaze:
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons water plus more as needed
- 2 plastic baby dolls
- purple, green, and gold sanding sugar
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients.
- all ingredients to make a mardi gras king cake.
- To make the dough: Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until steaming and small bubbles form around the edges, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted and fully combined, about 2 minutes. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
- Milk being heated in a small saucepan
- Meanwhile, stir together warm water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a large bowl. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
- yeast, water and sugar mixture foamy in a glass mixing bowl.
- Add cooled milk mixture, eggs, salt, nutmeg, and remaining 7 tablespoons sugar to yeast mixture, whisk until combined, about 30 seconds.
- cooled milk mixture, eggs, salt, sugar, and nutmeg being whisked together in a glass bowl.
- Beat flour into yeast mixture, 1 cup at a time, with an electric mixer fitted with dough hook attachment on medium speed until dough comes together, about 3 minutes.
- flour added to yeast mixture using the dough hook of a stand mixer
- Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour as needed, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Kneading dough until smooth
- Place dough in a lightly oiled large bowl; turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 ½ hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.
- dough doubled in size after proofing
- Return dough to a lightly floured work surface, roll out each half into a 10×16-inch rectangle, dusting work surface and rolling pin with additional flour if needed.
- dough rolled into a 10×16 rectangle
- To make the filling: Combine brown sugar, pecans, flour, raisins, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Pour melted butter on top and mix until crumbly.
- brown sugar, pecans, flour, raisins, and cinnamon mixed together in a medium bowl.
- Sprinkle filling evenly over dough, about 1 cup per cake, using your hands or a spatula to press into dough.
- filling sprinkled evenly over dough
- Starting at one of the long ends, roll each dough rectangle into a tight log.
- dough rectangles rolled, from the long end, into a tight log
- Bring the ends of each roll together, pinching the seams together to form 2 individual oval-shaped rings. Transfer each ring, seam side down, onto a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment. With scissors, make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1-inch intervals.
- ends of each roll brought together to form a ring. small cut made in 1inch intervals for venting
- Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, 30 to 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- king cakes ready to bake after doubling in size.
- Bake both rings in the preheated oven in the upper and lower thirds until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, or when a thermometer inserted into the center of the dough reads 190 F, about 25 minutes, rotating sheet trays 180 degrees and top to bottom, halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Some filling might leak out during baking.
- two king cakes baked until golden-brown.
- Remove cakes and carefully push 1 doll into bottom of each warm cake. Let cool slightly, about 30 minutes.
- baby doll being inserted into king cake.
- To make the glaze: Whisk confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons water together in a small bowl until smooth, adding another 1 tablespoon water if needed to reach desired consistency.
- confectioner’s sugar and water whisked together in a glass bowl to form the glaze
- Spread glaze evenly over the tops of both warm cakes.
- glaze drizzled evenly over both king cakes.
- Sprinkle sanding sugar immediately over glaze if desired.