Homemade King Cake

One of the shining moments of this time of year is Mardi Gras Season, when I was younger I didn't fully appreciate the festivals and all of the parades. However, I am starting to realize what I am missing and since I find that I never seem to make it down for the parades I am learning how to bring Mardi Gras to my house. In my parents home town the best king cakes are from a donut shop called Meche's, these are seriously amazing and my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I looked into ordering one and they run about $40-50 and I realized that is just a little out of my price range these days for things that I don't really have to have.

Once I decided that I was going to make my own king cake I looked all over pinterest and different food blogs for a king cake recipe. Since I wanted to replicate Meche's I knew that I needed lots of cinnamon and a yeast based dough. Some recipes use Brioche bread as the base like some of the most famous king cakes from New Orleans. I found that I don't much care for those type as they are a little dense for my personal taste and the fact that I grew up on Meche's. So I kept looking until I found a recipe that looked like it work for me. I found the recipe on this blog and I haven't really modified the ingredients to much but mainly the execution.

Homemade King Cake

Ingredients

2 Pillsbury French Bread loafs (or any refrigerated French Bread loaf)
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp Cinnamon
6 Tbsp butter melted

For Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
8 tsp milk
Food Coloring

Directions
1- Unroll the french bread on some type of silicon mat since the dough is pretty sticky
2- Mix together the cinnamon and sugar
3- Spread the melted butter across the dough and sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture
4- Cut the dough into three strips lengthwise
5- Braid the dough the same way you would braid your hair, I find that this part is a little difficult but just kinda twine it together until it looks good. You could just cut it in two parts and twist them.

6- Put the two braids together on a cookie sheet, mash the ends together so they kinda stick together
7- Pop the king cake into a 350 oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the bread it cooked
8- Make the icing by mixing the three ingredients together, it should be runny. You might want to add the milk slowly but make sure that it runs off the end of the spoon.
9- For a traditional king cake separate the icing into the three parts and dye one part green, purple, and yellow.

10- Drizzle the icing all of the cake
11- Enjoy it warm

I have made this a few different times for different Mardi Gras parties. I love to make this, it isn't quite as good as a Meche's king cake but it works in a pinch. I enjoy eating it for breakfast for several days after I make it. Let me know if you try this and how you think it matches up with the king cakes that you have had.

The breakfast of champions

On a side note, my king cakes do not have a baby in them but should you choose to I would not bake it the oven as it will melt but you can stick it in after. I would totally put one in my cakes when I take it places but I don't have any so if you have one laying around go ahead and put it is there. Enjoy the king cakes and I hope your Mardi Gras is wonderful.