Simple Mardi Gras King Cake

.... as they say in Louisiana, laissez le bon temps roulet!  Let the good times roll!



As Mardi Gras season is in full swing, I set out to make a king cake from a kit my sister brought me from New Orleans.  It seemed pretty authentic, so I was very excited to try it out.



Ingredients:
The kit contained the 'king cake mix', yeast, praline sugar, glaze, three packets of colored sprinkles, and of course the baby!  I added 1/3 cup of warm water, 3 eggs and 2 egg yolks, and 1 1/2 sticks of butter.



Recipe for king cake (following a kit):
1) Preheat oven to 350. Mix king cake mix, yeast, eggs, warm water and room temperature butter.  Approx 3-4 mins


2) Cover dough with plastic wrap and set in warm place for 30 minutes to rise.  Next, knead dough on a lightly floured surface.  This dough was very sticky and not easy to work with, so I kept adding more flour, probably more than I should have. This made the dough a bit drier than I would have liked.


3) Brush 2 tablespoons of melted butter over the surface and sprinkle the praline sugar topping all over. Next, start to roll up the dough like a jelly roll.  Pinch ends closed.


 4) Place dough on a cookie sheet and bring the two ends together to form a circle or oval. Let rise for 30 minutes until the dough has doubled in size.


5) Bake for 20-30 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool completely.  At this point put the baby somewhere under the cake.


6) To decorate, mix glaze with a bit of water until the consistency is of a thick icing.  Add decorative sprinkle or sugars.


Happy Mardi Gras! 

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