A Twist on the Classic King Cake

Always thinking out of the box, I put the Tina Twist on this one. This is my take on the classic king cake.

A classic King Cake is an enriched yeast dough filled with a cinnamon sugar filling, twisted into a round and covered with gold green and purple frosting or sprinkles.

My King Cake starts with a batch of my go-to enriched yeast dough.  Next, it’s spread with a mixture of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  It’s cut into squares and stacked in a loaf pan.  Baked and rizzled with a bit of powdered sugar icing and sprinkled with a modest amount of colored sugar.  I didn’t want to go crazy bright with the colors because I kind of like the subtle look. But feel free to add as much sugar or sprinkles as you would like.

I also love this picture and how when the dough proofed and then baked it kind of did its own thing.

After baking, a plastic baby is hidden somewhere in the cake.  It means good luck or prosperity to whoever finds it, and they are named king or queen of the party and have to throw the next party.  I didn’t have a plastic baby, so I used a dried kidney bean.

Pull-Apart King Cake

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

  

Dough:

• 250 grams of All-Purpose Flour 2 Cups + 1 Tablespoon
• 40 grams of Granulated Sugar
• 1 teaspoon of Instant Yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher Salt
• 120 ml of Warm Whole Milk, 110-115 ℉ ½ Cup
• 1 Large Whole Egg
• 1 Large Egg Yolk
• 42 grams of Room Temperature Unsalted Butter, Cut into cubes 3 Tablespoons

Filling:

• 6 tablespoons of Very Soft Unsalted Butter
• 100 grams of Light Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon

Glaze:

• 60 grams of Powdered Sugar ½ Cup
• 2-3 teaspoons of Milk
• 1/4 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• Purple, Yellow and Green Spinkles (Seperate)

Instructions

 

Dough:

• Place the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. and whisk together.
• Add the warm milk, whole egg and egg yolk and beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until the dough comes together, about 2-3 minutes.
• With the mixer on medium speed, add the butter a piece at a time. After all the butter has been added to the bowl continue to beat until the butter is incorporated.
• Switch to the dough hook and beat on medium low speed for 10-12 minutes or until the dough is smooth, is pulling away from the sides of the bowl and passes the window pane test.
• Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Allow the dough to rise until it doubles in volume, about 1 – 1 1/2 hour.
• If you are not ready to use the dough, place it in a zip-lock bag and store in the refrigerator over night.

Filling:

• Beat together the 6 tablespoons of softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Assembly:

• Butter an 8” x 4” loaf pan and line with parchment paper so it hangs over the 8” sides
• Roll the dough into a 10” x 15” rectangle.
• Combine the 6 tablespoons of softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Spread the mixture over the dough to the edges.
• Cut into 24 – 2 1/2 ” x 2 1/2” squares.. (6 x 4 pattern)
• Stack the rectangles and line them up in the prepared pan.
• Cover with plastic wrap and then a towel and allow to rise for about 45-60 minutes or until puffy.
• Place in a preheated 350 F oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. and the interior temperature measures at least 190℉.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and place on a wire rack.
• Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla.
• Drizzle over the loaf and sprinkle 1/3 with purple sprinkles, 1/3 with yellow and 1/3 with green.
• Best eaten warm or soon after baking.
• Enjoy!