04-03-2025
Making Mardi Gras king cake on Teach Me Tuesday
JAMESTOWN, N.C. (WGHP) — It's Fat Tuesday and people in New Orleans are feasting for Mardi Gras.
Every big meal needs a big dessert, so we are stirring up a classic on this Teach Me Tuesday in King cake — a traditional cake this time of year.
Brad Jones went down to Guilford Technical Community College to meet Chef Mike Dowd and cook up something delicious.
You can find a full recipe for the King Cake below:
Dough:
1 cup milk
1 ½ Tbsp active dry yeast
1 stick butter – softened to room temp
½ cup + 1 Tbsp sugar
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups bread flour
2 – 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Cinnamon filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 Tbsp butter – melted
Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp butter – melted
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
Dough:
Place yeast in a small bowl. Warm the milk to around 90˚F. Pour into the yeast and stir until mixed.
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, salt together with a paddle until smooth and no lumps of butter.
Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Scrape the bowl. Add the yolk and vanilla and do the same.
Switch to the dough hook. Add the bread flour and only 2 cups of the all-purpose flour, and the milk/yeast mixture. Mix until a smooth dough, about 4 minutes at medium speed. The dough should be slightly tacky. If it is too soft, adjust with more AP flour as needed.
Lightly oil a mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
While the dough is proofing, make the filling. Combine all the ingredients and mix to combine. Set aside.
Assembly:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle on a lightly floured surface, roughly 10 x 16'. Use a pizza cutter to divide the dough in half lengthwise to create two long rectangles. Sprinkle the cinnamon filling evenly over the two pieces of dough and roll up on the long side into two long dough logs. With the 2 pieces side by side, twist together into a braid. Transfer to the baking sheet and shape the braid into an oval, pinching the ends together. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm area for 30-45 minutes or until about 1½ times its original size.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and baked through or until 190° – 195°F internal temperature. Remove from the oven and cool completely before applying the frosting.
For the frosting:
Beat the powdered sugar, milk, butter, lemon juice, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. The frosting should be pourable but thick.
Stick a plastic baby figurine into the cake from the bottom side to hide it. Color the frosting as desired (purple, green, and yellow are traditional or use white icing sprinkled with purple, green, and yellow sprinkles before it sets) and drizzle the frosting over the cake. Spread it with a spatula if needed for good coverage.
Slice, serve, enjoy, and see who gets the baby.
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