Simple Festive Mardi Gras King Cake

First let me give you a little history of how the King Cake became part of the Mardi gras celebration. The story goes it was first used to honor the Magi who visited the Christ child on the twelfth night.

The cake is a ring shape with a surprise placed in the dough before baking. This surprise is usually a small plastic baby, to represent Jesus.

Once baked the cake is decorated with traditional colors of Mardi gras, purple, green and gold. When the cake is served to family and friends, whoever gets the baby will host the next King Cake celebration.

Now I will share the recipe for this delicious festive cake.

Dough
4 packages yeast
½ cup warm water
½ cup milk
1 cup plain yogurt
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 egg yolks (only) beaten
1 stick butter, softened
5 cups all purpose flour

Filling
1 stick butter, melted
3 tablespoons cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1 tiny plastic baby

Icing
4 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

To start the dough, you will need to combine the yeast and ½ of the sugar in the warm water. Stir well in a bowl and set aside. Bubbles will begin to appear in the mixture. At this point, stir in the remaining sugar, milk, yogurt, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Mix all these ingredients well then add the beaten egg yolks and mix again.

In another bowl you will want to start working the butter into the flour. Use a pastry cutter or two forks to assist with this task. Once the butter and the flour are incorporated, add it to the yeast mixture about a cup at a time. Mix well after each addition. Now you will want to knead the bowl of dough until it is smooth and elastic. Flip it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for several more minutes. Shape into a ball and place in a bowl that has been oiled. Cover with a dishtowel and place in a warm location and let it double in size.

Now punch the dough down and divide it in half. On a floured surface, roll each half into a rectangle about 8X14. Brush each rectangle with the melted butter. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle half over each of the pieces of dough. Roll the dough from the wide side, like a jelly roll. At some point you will want to insert the plastic baby in the roll. Press the ends together and stretch it into an oval shape. Place on a greased cookie sheet and allow to rise again for about an hour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 35 -45 minutes or until golden and has a hollow sound when tapped. Let it cool for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat the butter until it is soft. Add powdered sugar and vanilla while continuing to beat. Gradually add the milk until a glaze is achieved. Divide the icing into 3 bowls and use food coloring to tint each bowl purple, green, and gold. Spread on the cake in bands alternating colors all along the cake.