Best John Clancys Kings Cake Recipes

KING CAKE

Steps:

• For the dough: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat and pour in the milk and water. The mixture should be just warm to the touch, about 110 degrees F; let cool or heat over low heat as needed. Stir in the yeast and let stand for 5 minutes, until bubbles come to the surface.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
• In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, orange zest and egg yolks. Whisk in the yeast mixture. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients; fold with a rubber spatula until all the flour is incorporated and a slightly sticky dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and sprinkle the top with flour. Knead for 2 to 3 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and no longer sticks to the work surface. Lightly grease a medium bowl with the canola oil and add the dough, turning to coat. Cover the bowl and let proof in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• For the filling: Add the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, orange juice, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg to a medium bowl. Mix with a hand-held mixer or rubber spatula until completely combined and smooth. Set aside.
• Bake the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
• Remove the proofed dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll into an 8-by-28-inch rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick. Spread evenly with the cream cheese filling, leaving a 2-inch border. Add the plastic baby to the filling, and then roll the dough into a 28-inch log. With the log seam-side down, bring both ends together to form a circle. Lightly brush the inside of one end with water and insert the other end inside to close the circle. Brush the seam lightly with water and pinch to seal. Place the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure to form it back into a circle--it should be approximately 10-inches in diameter. Using a paring knife, make six 2- to 3-inch diagonal slits in the top of the dough (to act as vents during baking). Let the dough rise an additional 30 minutes, until puffed up and the vents have opened slightly.
• Bake the cake for 40 minutes, until the top and bottom have a deep golden-brown crust. The slits may also widen as during baking; that is normal. Remove the cake from oven and let cool for 30 minutes on the baking sheet.
• For the icing: Whisk together the confectioners' sugar, milk and orange juice until smooth. Spoon the icing over the top of the cooled cake, pushing it to either side. If some icing pools in the center or on the sides, just scoop it up and drizzle it over the cake again; you want to make sure the entire cake is covered in icing. Working quickly, so the icing doesn't set, sprinkle the yellow sanding sugar over a 2-inch section of the cake. Next to that, sprinkle the green sanding sugar, followed by the purple. Continue in this pattern until the entire cake is covered in sanding sugar.
• Transfer the cake to a cake stand and serve immediately, or hold at room temperature until ready to serve. This cake is best served the same day.

CLASSIC KING'S CAKE

Steps:

• In small bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water to dissolve. Set aside.
• Combine flour, sugar, nutmeg and salt in a large mixing bowl of stand mixer. Stir in lemon and orange peel. Make a well in the center and add yeast mixture, milk, beaten eggs and beaten egg yolks. Gradually fold together. Add 1/2 cup of the butter and beat using dough hook of a stand mixer on Low speed until dough forms ball.
• Place ball on floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, adding flour if necessary. Butter the inside of a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat the entire surface with butter. Cover and set aside for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• Heat oven to 375°F. Brush a large baking sheet with remaining butter. Return dough to lightly floured surface, knead several times. Shape into 14 inch long roll. Place on baking sheet and form from a ring, pinching ends together.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool cake on a wire rack.
• For the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Once cake has cooled, drizzle icing on top using a fork. Top with colored sugars and plastic baby, if desired. Serve.

JOHN CLANCY'S KING'S CAKE

Steps:

• Stir the yeast and one-half teaspoon of the sugar into the lukewarm water. Let the mixture stand until it foams about four to six minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine the remaining sugar, four cups of the flour, salt, nutmeg, lemon peel, milk, egg yolks, butter and the yeast mixture. Stir all the ingredients together until the liquid is absorbed by the flour. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured work surface.
• Knead the dough by pushing it forward and folding it back in half on top of itself. Continue to knead the dough for 15 to 20 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. Where necessary, sprinkle the dough with enough flour to keep it from sticking to your hands or the work surface.
• Place the dough in a large buttered bowl and turn it to coat it with the butter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and let the dough rise for about one hour or until it doubles in size.
• Transfer the dough from the bowl to the work surface and very gently knead the citron into it, just until the citron is well incorporated. Return the dough to a clean, well-buttered bowl and coat it with butter as before. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 45 minutes to one hour, or until it doubles in size.
• Punch the dough down in the bowl, then transfer it to the work surface, and shape it into a 14- to 16-inch-long cylinder. Press the pecan half into the dough so that it is completely encased. Place the cylinder on a buttered and floured cookie sheet and shape it into a ring by twisting and then overlapping the end securely. Brush the entire surface of the cake with beaten egg yolk and let it rise again for about one hour, or until it doubles in size. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Bake the cake on a rack in the middle of the oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool.

WORLD'S MOST DELICIOUS KING CAKE RECIPE EVER

Steps:

• Start by preheating your oven to 200°F.
• Take the 2 eggs from your refrigerator and place them into a bowl of warm water. Let them warm up for 5 minutes to bring them to room temperature.
• In a separate bowl, add your warm milk, 1 tbsp of sugar, and yeast. Stir this mixture with a fork or a whisk. Allow this to sit for 5-10 minutes, at which point your yeast should be bubbling or growing in size. If it's not, throw this mixture out and start again.
• Next, pour your yeast mixture, eggs, and melted butter into a stand mixer, or if you don't have one you can whisk it by hand.
• Mix this until it's combined, and then add half of the flour.
• Next, add in the remainder of the sugar and the salt. When this is mixed you can add the remainder of the flour. Keep mixing until this is well incorporated.
• Lightly flour a surface to work on with your dough, and use this to knead the dough for 5-7 minutes. You can knead the dough using the "taco method", meaning fold it over, press together, fold it over, press together, etc.
• When your ball of dough is nice and smooth, put 2 tbsp of olive oil in the bottom of a large bowl and place the ball of dough inside. Cover the top of the bowl and allow it to rise in a warm area for about an hour.
• Come back in an hour when it has risen.
• After the dough has risen for an hour, punch it down.
• Again, turn it onto your lightly flowered surface and knead for another 1-2 minutes.
• Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large rectangle. This should be about 20 inches long.
• Now we are going to add the ingredients in the "filling" category. Brush the softened butter onto the dough, and cover it with the cinnamon sugar. Make sure this covers the entire surface of the dough.
• Optionally, you can sprinkle pecans onto the dough at this point as well.
• Tightly roll the dough long ways, similarly to the way you would a jelly roll.
• Roll it onto a piece of parchment paper, which you can slide onto your baking dish. Bring the 2 ends of the long roll together to form the shape of a circle or oval. Either shape is great. Seal the 2 ends together. You can use a bit of water or milk to help with this.
• Cover and let it rise again for another hour.
• After rising for 60 minutes, brush the entire cake with milk. Now it's ready to bake!
• Bake this cake in a 375°F oven for 25-30 minutes, or until it is golden brown.
• Let the cake sit for 15-20 minutes.
• Combine your powdered sugar, milk or water, and vanilla in a bowl. Stir the mixture until it's smooth. The icing should be thick, but also pourable.
• This is the time to add your plastic baby Jesus to your cake! Cut a small slit into the inside of the cake circle where it won't be seen, and slide the plastic baby in.
• Now you can drizzle the glaze over the king cake. Promptly sprinkle it with green, yellow, and purple sanding sugar.
• Your king cake is now ready to serve!

KING CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Add the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Scrape in the vanilla bean seeds. Add in the melted butter, 2 of the eggs and the milk.
• Combine on low speed until all the ingredients are incorporated, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is elastic, smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, 8 to 10 minutes. (If you are in a more humid climate, you may need to add a little more flour, a couple tablespoons at a time, to reach the desired consistency.) Transfer the dough to a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic or a damp kitchen towel and allow to rise until it doubles in size, 60 to 90 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling: In a small bowl, add the cream cheese and sugar and stir until incorporated. Place the jam in a small microwave-safe bowl and warm in the microwave until it's a spreadable consistency, 10 to 15 seconds. Set aside.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down, then tip it onto a floured work surface. Lightly roll it to a 24-by-6 inch rectangle. Use a rubber spatula to smear the cream cheese mixture on the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Spoon the jam on top and smear in an even layer. Roll the dough lengthwise to create a tight cylinder.
• Transfer to a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Form the dough into a ring, seam-side down, and pinch together. Cover with plastic or a clean dish towel and let rise until puffy and springy to the touch (the dough will bounce back from a finger indention), 30 minutes.
• While the dough is rising, place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining egg.
• When ready to bake, brush the egg wash lightly all over the dough. Bake until golden brown all over, about 35 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Prepare the glaze: Sift the confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl. Add the milk and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
• Once the cake has cooled, it's the perfect time to insert the small plastic baby from the bottom of the cake (to conceal its whereabouts!). Pour the glaze on top of the cake, then, while the glaze is still wet, sprinkle with green, yellow and purple sanding sugar in sections. Serve at room temperature.

KING CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and white sugar in warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• Stir the egg yolks and melted butter into the milk mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, nutmeg and lemon zest. Beat the flour mixture into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
• In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Mix well. In another small bowl, combine the remaining 2 cups confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons milk. Mix well and set aside.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out into a 6x30 inch rectangle. Spread the cream cheese filling across the center of the dough. Bring the two long edges together and seal completely. Using your hands shape the dough into a long cylinder and place on a greased baking sheet, seam-side down. Shape the dough into a ring press the baby into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough. Place a well-greased 2 pound metal coffee can the center of the ring to maintain the shape during baking. Cover the ring with a towel and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove the coffee can and allow the bread to cool. Drizzle cooled cake with lemon/sugar glaze and decorate with candy sprinkles.

TRADITIONAL KING CAKE

Steps:

• Cook the first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until butter melts; set aside and cool mixture to 100-110°.
• Stir the yeast, ½ cup warm water, and 1 tablespoons sugar in a 1 cup glass measuring cup; let mixture stand 5 minutes.
• Beat sour cream mixture, yeast mixture, eggs, and 2 cups flour at medium speed with a heavy-duty stand mixer until smooth.
• Decrease speed to low, and gradually add enough remaining flour (4-4 ½ cups) until a soft dough forms.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes).
• Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease the top.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until dough is doubled in bulk.
• Punch down dough, and divide in half.
• Roll each portion into a 22x12 inch rectangle.
• Spread 1/3 cup softened butter evenly on each rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border.
• Stir ½ cup sugar and cinnamon together; sprinkle evenly over butter on each rectangle.
• Roll up each dough rectangle, jelly-roll fashion, starting at 1 long side.
• Place 1 dough roll seam side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet; bring ends of roll together to form an oval ring, moistening and pinching edges together to seal.
• Repeat with second dough roll.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place free from drafts, 20-30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
• Bake in a 375° oven for 14-16 minutes or until golden.
• Make glaze: stir together the first 4 glaze ingredients; stir in 2 tablespoons milk, adding more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until spreading consistency.
• Slightly cool cakes on pans on wire racks (about 10 minutes).
• Drizzle Creamy Glaze evenly over warm cakes, sprinkle with colored sugars, alternating colors and forming bands; let cool completely.