American Cake - Cake #19: New Orleans King Cake

 Time Period: 1650-1799

During the earliest days of the United States becoming a country, plenty was going on outside those thirteen original colonies. Over in Louisiana, French, Spanish, Basque, and Haitian influences were blending into a melting pot of their own, and introduced countless culinary wonders we still enjoy. The King Cake is heavily associated with Mardis Gras, and since we can't do anything in public thanks to an ongoing pandemic, I decided to try and save some portion of the holiday by taking on the book's most complicated recipe so far.

King Cakes can take different forms, but the first one was brought to North America by Basque settlers in 1718, and was a cinnamon-swirled brioche-style cake, rather than more modern ones made with puff pastry dough. Since we're trying to honor the cake's roots here, this recipe honors that earlier preparation, using bread flour and yeast. 

I could have just sprinkled powered sugar on top, but wanted to fully embrace the holiday by preparing an almond-tinged glaze with the traditional Mardis Gras colors. So how did it turn out? Considering it was my first try, and preparing the dough took some complex measuring and temperamental proving, not bad! It was time-consuming enough that I don't know how often I'll be rushing to make another one, but for being stuck at home during a bitterly cold winter weekend, it certainly earned some beads.

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