French King Cake Food

KING CAKE

Steps:

• Cook first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until butter melts; Cool mixture to 100 degrees to 110 degrees.
• Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes; Add butter mixture, eggs, and 2 cups flour; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until smooth; Gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
• Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes; Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top; Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
• Using an electric mixer, mix cream cheese until smooth; Add egg and blend well; Add sugar, salt and vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy; Set aside.
• Punch dough down; divide in half; Turn 1 portion out onto a lightly floured surface; roll to a 28- x 10-inch rectangle; Spread half each of cream cheese mixture on dough; Roll dough, jellyroll fashion, starting at long side; Place dough roll, seam side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet; Bring ends together to form an oval ring, moistening and punching edges together to seal; Repeat with remaining dough and cream cheese mixture.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 20 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden.
• Decorate with bands of Colored Frostings, and sprinkle with Colored Sugars.
• COLORED FROSTINGS: Stir together powdered sugar and melted butter; Add milk to reach desired consistency for drizzling; stir in vanilla; Divide frosting into 3 batches, tinting 1 green, 1 yellow, and combining red and blue food coloring for purple frosting.
• COLORED SUGARS: Place 1/2 cup sugar and drop of green food coloring in a zip-top plastic bag; seal; Shake and squeeze vigorously to evenly mix color with sugar; Repeat procedure with 1/2 cup sugar and yellow food coloring; For purple, combine 1 drop red and 1 drop blue food coloring before adding to remaining 1/2 cup sugar.

TRADITIONAL FRENCH GALETTE DES ROIS RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Combine almond meal, sugar, egg, softened butter, vanilla extract, and flour in the bowl of a food processor .
• Blend to a smooth, creamy paste. Feel free to make this cream a few days in advance, then refrigerate in an airtight container.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 425 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll out 2 sheets of puff pastry and cut into 2 (11-inch) discs. Place one disc on the prepared baking sheet. Spread an even layer of almond cream, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges.
• If you wish to include a dried fava bean, you can do so at this point. Simply nestle it in the almond cream. Brush some of the beaten egg over the pastry border.
• Place second puff pastry disc on top of filling, and crimp edges with a fork to seal the cake.
• Using a sharp knife, score a decorative pattern into the top layer of pastry without cutting through to the almond filling. Brush galette with the remaining beaten egg (this will create a golden crust).
• Bake cake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and dust cake with confectioners' sugar.
• Return to oven and bake until the puff pastry becomes a deep golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes more. Allow cake to cool for 20 minutes before serving.

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.

FRENCH KING CAKE

Steps:

• Frangipane - Cream the butter and sugar together.
• Mix in the almond flour.
• Add the eggs one at a time, to gradually incorporate them.
• Fold the flour into the mixture.
• Assemble - Place 1 sheet of pastry into a 9" tart pan.
• Spread the frangipane mixture over the top.
• Place the remaining pastry on top.
• Trim the edges and seal. Make a couple of vents in the top.
• Bake at 350F for 30 minutes until the pastry is golden.
• Allow to cool.

GALETTE DES ROIS-KING CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. With an electric beater, mix all the ingredients for the frangipane cream just until blended. On a slightly floured cold surface, cut 2 circles the size of dinner plates out of the puff pastry. Put one of them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush one inch around the edge of the circle with egg wash (beaten egg yolk). Spread half of the frangipane cream on the center and place the second circle on top matching the edges of the circles. Press all around the edges to glue them together. Press softly in the center to evenly spread the filling. If making 2 galettes use remaining cream and follow the same method for preparation.
• Decorate the galette with a fork, press edges together all around-no pricking. With the point of a knife, make any kind of design being careful not to go all the way through the puff pastry. Brush the surface with egg wash being careful no to get any on the sides.
• Bake the galette in the center of a preheated 450 degree oven for 15 minutes then 350 degrees for 30 minutes. For the last 5 minutes, sprinkle with powdered sugar and bake until golden brown. Serve warm with gold paper crown on top.
• For the tradition of Epiphany in the privacy of your kitchen cut the galette in as many parts as people in the party. In one of them, insert a little ceramic toy (big enough to prevent swallowing). In the old days, they used a dried fava bean, so to this day it is still called "la feve." Everyone picks 1 piece of galette the one who discovers the toy is made the king of the day and wears the crown. He picks a queen by putting the toy in her glass and everyone raises his or her glass and applauds. Same process in reverse if a lady finds the toy. Tradition says that the next party should be at the king's expense.

KING CAKE

Steps:

• 1. For the cake, pour the warm milk into a large bowl. Whisk in the granulated sugar, yeast, and a heaping tablespoon of the flour, mixing until both the sugar and the yeast have dissolved.
• 2. Once bubbles have developed on the surface of the milk and it begins to foam, whisk in the butter, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the remaining flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a large rubber spatula.
• 3. After the dough comes together, pulling away from the sides of the bowl, shape it into a large ball. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes.
• 4. Put the dough back into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a draft-free place to let it proof, or rise, for 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in volume.
• 5. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough between your palms into a long strip, making 3 ropes of equal length. Braid the 3 ropes around one another and then form the braided loaf into a circle, pinching ends together to seal. Gently lay the braided dough on a nonstick cookie sheet and let it rise until it doubles in size, about 30 minutes.
• 6. Once it's doubled in size, place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake until the braid is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
• 7. For the icing, while the cake is cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar, condensed milk, and lemon juice in a bowl until the icing is smooth and very spreadable. If the icing is too thick, add a bit more condensed milk; if it's a touch too loose, add a little more powdered sugar.
• 8. Once the cake has cooled, spread the icing over the top of the cake and sprinkle with purple, green, and gold decorative sugars while the icing is still wet. Tuck the fève or plastic baby into the underside of the cake and, using a spatula, slide the cake onto a platter.

KING'S CAKE

Steps:

• Make the dough. Sift the flour with the sugar, sea salt, lemon zest, and yeast into the bowl of a food processor. Process on low speed, then add the eggs. Continue processing just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add the orange-flower water and rum and continue processing just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Dice the candied orange peel, chop the butter into pieces, and add them both to the dough mixture. Process again just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Place the dough in a large bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Set aside to rise for 2 hours at room temperature.
• Punch down the dough then place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and punch it down again. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, roll out the dough into a square, and place it on the lined baking sheet. Bring the corners of the dough to the center and insert the bean. Turn the dough over and shape it into a ball. Press your thumb in the center to make a depression and push the dough out around it to form a ring or crown. Cover it with a damp cloth and set aside to rise until doubled in volume, at least 2 hours in a warm room (77°F to 82°F [25 to 28°C]).
• Preheat the oven to 360°F (180°C).
• Prepare the glaze. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, whole eggs, sugar, and salt. Brush the crown with the glaze. Dip a pair of scissors in water, and make cuts in the top of the cake, so it resembles the points of a crown. Place it in the oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes.
• Warm the apricot preserve or jelly, then strain it. Remove the cake from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack, then brush with the jam. Sprinkle with the pearl sugar and decorate with strips of the candied melon, candied orange, and coarsely chopped almonds.