Nectar Cream King Cake

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Nectar Cream King Cake for Mardi gras is an easy recipe to make for Carnival — NECTAR CREAM KING CAKE

What’s the first thing you think of when someone says “Mardi Gras”? Is it beads? Parties? Bourbon Street? Parades? If you asked me, the first thing I think of when someone mentions Mardi Gras is King Cake!!! Seriously though, it wouldn’t be a real Mardi Gras without king cakes.

If you are a New Orleanian, you know the tradition of king cakes. But, do you really know the real meaning of king cakes and where they came from? Sure, people know that if you get the baby, you have to get the next king cake. But why a baby? Does the baby represent something? Well, as it turns out, the king cake history is traced back to paganism, the birth of Jesus Christ, and Christianity.

EPIPHANY

While most people think that Christmas is over on December 25th, that is simply not true. Christmas continues until Epiphany, which is on January 6th, and also, the real start of the Carnival or Mardi Gras season. This day, also known as 12th Night or King’s Day, marks the day when the Three Wise Men visited baby Jesus and bearing gifts.

The word “epiphany” comes from the Greek word meaning “to show.” Epiphany, therefore, represented when Jesus first “showed himself” to the Three Wise Men and the world on this day. The name king cake, as you can allude to, comes from the Wise Kings visiting Jesus on that day.

It is a tradition in New Orleans that you eat king cakes on January 6th. If you are in New Orleans, the first Mardi Gras parade of the season is held today. Every year on 12th Night, the Phunny Phorty Phellows kicks off the parade season with a ride down St. Charles Street on the street car.

Ingredients for Nectar Cream King Cake. Light almond flavor and cream cheese icing — Ingredients for Nectar Cream King Cake

THE KING CAKE

What exactly is a King Cake? Some would describe it as a cinnamon roll-type pastry. A traditional king cake is a cinnamon-flavored dough covered in icing and decorated with purple, yellow, and gold—the official colors of Mardi Gras. Over time, other flavors have popped up, such as cream cheese, strawberry, and even banana’s foster. Nowadays, you can find almost any flavor of king cake you can think of.

Inside each king is a hidden small plastic baby. The tradition is whomever gets the baby, has to buy the next king cake. The baby, you guessed it, symbolizes Baby Jesus, and symbolizes luck and prosperity. Nowadays, many bakeries no longer put the baby inside the king cake due to potential choking hazards. The baby is usually placed in the middle or on top of the cake.

Cream Cheese Icing on Nectar Cream King Cake — Where did the tradition of the King Cake baby come from?

THE BABY

Where did the tradition of putting a baby inside a king cake come from? The king cake started off as a simple puff pastry filled with almond cream in France, even dating back as far as the Roman Empire days. The cake was filled with a bean inside, marking the person as “king of the day” if they received the piece with the bean.

As Christianity emerged, then with the Three Kings, all those traditions merged together. At the time, the cake transformed into a ring of brioche dough as flour, sugar, and wheat became more readily available. Many people from that area settled in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana, bringing with them, the tradition of king cakes.

The King Cake Baby did not appear until the 20th century. In the 1940s, a New Orleans bakery owner purchased porcelain dolls to hide in his king cakes to distinguish McKenzie’s Bakery (a famed New Orleans bakery that no longer exists) cakes from his own. The porcelain doll was eventually depleted and he replaced them with cheaper plastic ones.

Plastic babies traditional baked into King Cakes for Mardi Gras — The original babies were made of porcelain

VARIATIONS

Today, you will find several different flavors and flavors combinations of king cakes. Step into most bakeries in Louisiana, and you will find flavors such as strawberry cheesecake, pecan praline, lemon, blueberry, apple, and more. Cochon, a famed restaurant in New Orleans even sells an Elvis King cake that includes bacon, marshmallow fluff, peanut butter, and bananas with a plastic baby pig inside.

May restaurants and bakeries also offer different takes on the traditional king cake. There are king cake cupcakes, shakes, cheesecakes, and mousse cups. Any home baker can experiment with different combinations, mixing cream cheese with preserves or jams.

Purple, green, and gold sugar--the traditional Mardi Gras color. — The three colors of Mardi Gras: purple, gold, green
Purple symbolizes Justice. Gold symbolizes Power. Green symbolizes Faith

THE RECIPE

The basic dough recipe can be used to make any combination of king cake. You can experiment with a combination of fillings, such as cream cheese and strawberry (use jam).

If you are inserting a baby into the cake, do it after it has been baked. Also, if you are serving this to guests, please inform them that there is a baby inside. You can also place the baby on top of the king cake.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

King Cake Dough

1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon, whole milk, divided
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, divided
4 1/2 cups flour, plus more for rolling

Nectar Cream King Cake
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
2/3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 drops liquid pink food coloring
King Cake Dough (recipe precedes)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe proceeds)
Purple, green, and gold sparkling sugars to decorate

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 tablespoon whole milk
1/2 tablespoon clear vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup confectioner's sugar

Easy Nectar Cream King cake for Mardi Gras. Taste like a wedding cake! — Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday in French. It is the last day of the Carnival Season, and is proceeded by As Wednesday, which is the start of the Lenten season

KING CAKE DOUGH

Step 1:

In a small saucepan over low heat, warm 1 cup of the milk and the butter until the butter is melted and the mixture is warm to touch. Remove from heat and transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Sprinkle with the yeast on top and let it sit untiling foaming, about 8-10 minutes.

Melt butter and milk to make brioche dough for king cake — Warm milk and butter

Step 2:

With the mixture on medium speed, add the sugar, salt, vanilla, and 3 of the eggs. Mix until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the flour and mix until just incorporated, about 5 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until a dough ball forms, 4-6 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Sprinkle yeast on top of warm milk for king cake — Sprinkle yeast on top of warm milk and melted butter. Let sit for 8-10 minutes

NECTAR CREAM KING CAKE

Step 1:

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar, egg yolk, extracts, and food coloring, and beat at low speed until combined and smooth.

Step 2:

Lightly punch down King Cake Dough. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and 1 tablespoon water.

Let the dough rise for 1 hour — After 1 hour rise, punch down dough and let sit for 5 minutes

Step 3:

Turn the King Cake Dough onto a lightly floured surface, and divide in half. This will be a sticky dough so use flour when needed. Roll one half into a 24 x 6-inch rectangle. Using a small offset spatula, spread half of the cream cheese mixture onto the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border on one long side.

Divide dough in half and roll into a rectangle. Spread cream cheese mixture — Divide dough in half and roll out two rectangles. Spread cream cheese mixture on top

Step 4:

Brush the border with egg wash. Starting with the long side opposite border, roll up dough, jelly-roll style; pinch seam to seal. Gently shape the log to even thickness, if necessary.

Repeat the procedure with the remaining dough and remaining cream cheese mixture.

Step 5:

Carefully twist logs together, and place them on a sheet of parchment paper. Form into a circle, twisting and pinching ends to seal. Use egg wash if needed. Slide the parchment onto a baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffed, about 30-45 minutes.

Twist into a braid and pinch the seams to seal at the end — Twist into braid and pinch seams at the ends to seal

Step 6:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush dough with egg wash. Bake until lightly golden and an instant-read thermometer registers 190°, 30-45 minutes, loosely covering with foil halfway through baking to prevent excess browning, if necessary.

Brush with egg wash before baking. — Brush with egg wash and bake for 30-45 minutes

Step 7:

Let cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool; completely on a wire rack. Spread Cream Cheese Frosting on top, and garnish with purple, green, and gold sparkling sugars. If using Mardi Gras baby, insert it on the bottom of the king cake if using.

King cake can be trimmed to leave a hole inside — King cake before it’s trimmed

Trimmed king cake for a more traditional shape — King Cake trimmed on the insides to make a hole for a more consistent king cake shape

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Step 1:

In a medium bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, milk, vanilla, and salt at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add confectioners' sugar beating at low speed until smooth.