With only four pounds of butter, five pounds of sugar and six hours, you too can go from this:
to this:
Just for the record, I'm missing a fork and possibly part of a finger and the deliciousness of this cake seems to be directly responsible.
For the curious among you I feel that a little recipe action is in order. The pastry is basically three different components: the cakey part, the filling, and the icing. So I'll break it down for you.
Cake: The rich, slightly sweet, bready casing from this recipe is amazing. It's basically a brioche dough. However, the unusual method for incorporating small chunks of cold butter makes for an exceptionally toothsome, moist and sexy baked good. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Icing: I chose to use the icing from this recipe instead of the original because I thought that all of that sugar needed a bit more acidity for balance. More lemon for me please.
Filling: I couldn't quite decide on this one. Creamy sweetened cream cheese, from one recipe, or ground buttery candied pecans, from the other? As with most of my life, when faced with a decision between two equally alluring temptations, I took both. I just halved the amounts for each and folded them together. Hell yes. Do this. It turned out way too good.
Well, another baking adventure is over and all I'm left with is 20,000 calories of wonderful. You have a year people. Next February I want pictures of all your purple, green and gold King Cake goodnesses- get crackin'!
(Oh yeah, feel free to scroll down to the next post for a naughty innards shot...)
L. Pants
Ah, I wish you had posted this before Mardi Gras - my mom asked me for a recipe to pass her and I would have definitely sent this one! :)
Posted by: Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy | Thursday, 26 February 2009 at 03:41
Oh dear, Sara! Yeah, we procrastinated a bit on the King Cake this year. If she wants to make one next year, point her our way!
Posted by: Rachel from Boots in the Oven | Thursday, 26 February 2009 at 16:49
my, that's festive. at first glance i thought it was a sort of funnel cake, but clearly this was a way more complex baking escapade. looks like fun on a plate!
Posted by: Krista | Thursday, 26 February 2009 at 18:45
Definitely festive! Sort of a big, happy mess, which takes eleventeen steps. It was a lot of fun to eat!
Posted by: Boots in the Oven | Thursday, 26 February 2009 at 21:39
That's one mother of cake. I think I gained a pound just reading about the butter, sugar, nuts and cream cheese!
Posted by: Gastronomer | Sunday, 01 March 2009 at 22:25
Ah yes... you've touched on another reason that baking is pretty rare around here. But the cake keeps getting better and better!
Posted by: Boots in the Oven | Monday, 02 March 2009 at 00:25