King Cake

Makes: 10 to 12 servings

Time: About 3½ hours

There’s no Mardi Gras without king cake. The yeasted cake is traditionally garnished with flamboyant green, purple, and gold sugar, and a plastic baby is hidden within the dough. Legend has it that whoever finds it is blessed with good luck (and has to buy the next year’s king cake for the group). If the dough doesn’t lose its stickiness as you knead it, add another tablespoon or so of flour.

• 2 tablespoons instant yeast
• ½ cup sugar
• 4 cups flour, plus more for as needed
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick butter, melted, plus more for greasing
• 5 egg yolks, room temperature
• ½ cup warm milk
• Vanilla Glaze
• Purple, green, and gold sugars, for decorating

1. Combine the yeast, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and ½ cup warm water (about 110°F) in a small bowl.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, spices, lemon zest, and salt. Add the butter, egg yolks, warm milk, and yeast mixture and mix until smooth. Switch to a dough hook and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes, adding more flour at a time if the dough is still sticky. (Alternatively, use an electric mixer to mix the ingredients, then knead by hand.)

3. Use more butter to grease a bowl and put the dough inside, turning it to coat with butter. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and put it in a warm place to rise for about 1½ hours, until it’s doubled in size.

4. Heat the oven to 375°F and grease a baking sheet. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, punch it down, and divide it into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 16 inches long. Braid the ropes together, then form the braided loaf into a circle (see illustrations). Pinch the ends to seal the circle, then lay the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Place a heatproof empty can in the middle of the dough circle to keep its shape. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

5. Bake the cake until it’s golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely before glazing. While the glaze is still wet, dust the cake with the sugars for Mardi Gras. If you’d like, stick a plastic baby, hard bean, or pecan half into the cake from the bottom.

6. This is best eaten fresh on the day it’s made. Store the cake, tightly wrapped, at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Shaping King Cake

STEP 1
Shape the dough into three long ropes and then braid them together.

STEP 2
Form the braid into a circle, set a can in the middle, and let the dough rise.