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The Bakery 100 · make it at home

New Orleans king cake

4 hr, 1 hr hands-on · 1 large cake, 14 slices

A ring of soft brioche twisted around cinnamon sugar, covered in icing and purple, green and gold sugar, with a tiny baby hidden inside.

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The real one

You need

• Dough: 500 g all-purpose flour (4 cups)
• 80 g sugar (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp)
• 7 g instant yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 180 ml whole milk, warm (3/4 cup)
• 3 eggs
• 90 g soft unsalted butter (6 tbsp)
• Filling: 150 g brown sugar (3/4 cup), 2 tsp cinnamon, 60 g soft butter (4 tbsp); or 225 g cream cheese beaten with 60 g sugar and 1 egg yolk
• Icing: 250 g powdered sugar (2 cups), 3 to 4 tbsp milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Colored sanding sugar: purple, green and gold
• 1 small plastic baby or a whole pecan

How to make it

1. Dough (20 min plus 1 hr 30 min): Knead flour, sugar, yeast, salt, nutmeg, zest, milk and eggs 5 minutes, then the butter 8 minutes more, until smooth. Cover and rise until doubled.
2. Roll and fill (15 min): Roll to a 25 x 70 cm (10 x 28 in) rectangle. Spread with the soft butter and scatter the cinnamon sugar (or spread the cream cheese down the middle).
3. Shape (10 min): Roll up from a long side, pinch the seam, and bring the ends together into a ring on a lined tray, sealing the join. For a braided look, cut the log in half lengthwise and twist before making the ring.
4. Proof (1 hr): Cover and proof until puffy.
5. Bake (25 to 30 min): Bake at 180C (350F) 25 to 30 minutes until deep golden. Cool completely.
6. Ice and decorate (10 min): Whisk the icing to a thick pour, spread it over the ring and immediately sprinkle bands of purple, green and gold sugar. Push the baby (or pecan) in from underneath. Whoever finds it buys the next cake.

Tips

• Ice only when fully cool or it runs off.
• King cake season runs from Twelfth Night (Jan 6) to Mardi Gras.

Chef Amazing's own home version of king cake, in our words; not any bakery's recipe.