Tasty Tuesday: King Cake

I've always associated Fat Tuesday with paczki. I'm amazed to hear how many people have never eaten one or even heard of them though! Pretty much they're like fruit or cream-filled doughnuts. But better. The kids have mentioned them multiple times since we made them a couple years ago. Instead of making them again this year, we made another Fat Tuesday treat - king cake.

While we don't partake in or condone the festivities of Mardi Gras, we do enjoy yummy food. I had never had king cake before or really knew much about it. The cake represents the 3 wise men that visited Jesus. Oftentimes, a small plastic baby is baked inside the cake as a special surprise.

A traditional king cake is very similar to cinnamon rolls. The dough is made, rolled out, filled with a cinnamon-sugar mixture, and rolled. Instead of being cut, the log is formed into a ring and baked. It is then topped with a simple icing and decorated with purple, yellow, and green sugar.

The kids had fun making this, but even more fun eating it! We're a big cinnamon roll family, so I knew they would love it. Alyssa was very impressed with how "beautiful" and "fancy" it looked with the stripes and Jake would have gladly eaten half the cake in a singe sitting had we let him. "It is Fat Tuesday," he argued. Hmm, good point!

I have a feeling we won't be waiting until next Fat Tuesday before making this again.

King Cake

Cake Ingredients:

¼ cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees F)

½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp softened butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 c sour cream
3½ Tbsp white sugar
3½ c all-purpose flour, or as needed
2½ tsp active dry yeast

Filling Ingredients:

½ c white sugar

2 tsp cinnamon
5 Tbsp melted butter
1 c chopped pecans (optional)

Glaze Ingredients:

1½ c confectioner's sugar
1½ Tbsp melted butter

⅛ tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk, or as needed
1 Tbsp purple colored sugar

1 Tbsp green colored sugar
1 Tbsp yellow colored sugar
 

Directions:
1. Place the warm water, salt, softened butter, egg, sour cream, 3½ tablespoons of sugar, flour, and yeast into a bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer, select the dough cycle, and start the machine. Check the dough after about 5 minutes of mixing, and add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of water or flour if the dough is too dry or wet.
2. Mix ½ cup of sugar, the cinnamon, and 5 tablespoons of melted butter together in a bowl. Grease a baking sheet, and set aside.
3. When the dough cycle is finished, remove the dough and roll out to a 10x28-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Spread the cinnamon-butter mixture over the dough, and sprinkle on an even layer of pecans, if using. Starting at a long edge, and roll the dough into a 28-inch long log. Place the rolled dough onto the prepared baking sheet, seam side down, and form the dough into a ring. Moisten the ends of the dough with a little water; pinch the two ends together to seal. Cover the dough ring with a cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
4. Bake the cake at 375 degrees F until the top is golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.
5. Mix the confectioner's sugar, 1½ tablespoons of melted butter, vanilla extract, and just enough milk to make a smooth but not thin glaze.
6. Remove the cake from the oven, and cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack. While the cake is still warm, spoon the glaze onto the cake, allowing drips of glaze to dribble down the sides of the cake. Immediately sprinkle the cake with alternating bands of purple, green, and yellow colored sugar.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.

Tasty Tuesday: Glazed Doughnuts

We didn't make paczki for Fat Tuesday like we did last year. So sad, I know. But don't worry - we did make doughnuts! Yummy, delicious, comparable-to-that-famous-doughnut-shop doughnuts! 

Yeah, they're that good.

I had been wanting to make doughnuts for ages now. Leighton looked for a doughnut cutter for Christmas, but couldn't find any. I found the one I want on Amazon, but who wants to pay shipping on a $5 item. I added it to my cart a month ago, waiting until I purchase something else too. It's still sitting in my cart. We don't order online very often. I wasn't going to let my lack of fancy doughnut cutter keep me from making delicious doughnuts on Fat Tuesday though. No way! I just compromised and used my biscuit cutters. Not quite as easy, not quite as pretty, but they got the job done.

The recipe gives directions for proofing the yeast and mixing the dough in a bowl. But why go through all that work though when you have a bread maker???  I just had the kids dump the wet ingredients in the pan, followed by the dry, and finally the yeast. Ninety minutes later, and our dough was ready for step 3.

I rolled the dough out on a floured surface, being careful not to overwork it. Then, I used my 3 inch biscuit cutter to make the doughnut and my 1½ inch cutter to make the center.

I transferred the doughnuts and the holes to floured parchment paper. They rose covered on the counter for 90 minutes before I moved them to the oven to finish. I let the oven warm to 200° for a few minutes and shut it off. I placed the doughnuts inside for 10 minutes. Normally, it would take about an hour for the dough to double in size while sitting on the counter. Normally - as in if your house is warmer than 68°.

I talked Leighton into frying the doughnuts for me. I figured it was fitting since I was teasing him about taking control of the funnel cakes we made. (We made them again this past weekend for a banquet at church. He fried and I de-greased and helped with toppings.) The electric skillet is perfect  to use since it keeps a constant temperature. Just make sure you don't put too many in at a time and drop the temp, making them cook unevenly.

Also, make sure you very, very, very carefully place the dough into the oil. Otherwise, the doughnut will deflate, leaving an ugly flat blob. Tasty, yes; pretty, no. 

It was my job to coat the doughnuts. Some I dipped just the tops in the glaze and covered with sprinkles. Others I used a slotted spoon to fully coat  with glaze. 

The kids had fun coating the doughnut holes in a cinnamon/sugar mix.

As soon as the first doughnut made it to the racks to cool, all 3 kiddies started begging for one. And can you blame them? The fresh, warm doughnuts melt in your mouth and are absolutely delicious! You could easily eat 3 or 4 without even realizing it. The consistency and flavor truly resemble Krispy Kreme doughnuts. The kids and I love them fully coated in the glaze, but Leighton thinks it's a bit much.  It could be because I added only half the water in order to keep it thicker, thus causing more glaze to remain on the doughnuts, but most likely it's because he's more of a savory guy. The rest of us will take one any which way we can! We've already talked about next time we make them.

Mmm, next time. 

Make these and you will not be disappointed! Unless you eat the whole batch by yourself. Then you might be a wee bit disappointed in your waist size. But the doughnuts themselves will not let you down! 



* I halved the doughnut recipe, but forgot to halve the glaze. We ended up with plenty glaze left over. The dough made 12 full-size doughnuts and 20 doughnut holes. The original recipe is below.

Yeast Doughnuts
Dough Ingredients:
2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast or 4 1/2 tsp                  2 eggs
1/4 c warm water (105 to 115 degrees)                                      1/3 c shortening
1 1/2 c lukewarm milk                                                              5 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c white sugar                                                                     vegetable oil for frying
1 tsp salt        

Glaze Ingredients:
1/3 c butter                                                                               1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 c confectioners' sugar                                                             4 Tbsp hot water or as needed

Directions:

1. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.
2 In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.
4. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.
5. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up.

Tasty Tuesday: Paczki

Fat Tuesday should be a national holiday. Not because I partake in the events of Mardi Gras. Not because I give up something for Lent. To me, it's all about the paczki. If you've never had one, you need to. Need to. The dough is richer than jelly doughnuts and so much better. Each paczek contains over 400 calories. No wonder we eat them only once a year!

  

Paczki

Ingredients:

2 tbsp sugar
2 tsbp butter                                                                                                   
1/2 cup of milk, heated to 110 degrees       
1/4 tsp vanilla                                                 

pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 tsp yeast
2 1/4 cups flour

Directions:
1. Combine the sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, salt, and eggs. Pour in the yeast and whisk to dissolve. Mix in the flour 1/2 cup at a time, until you have a stiff dough.
2. Remove the dough and knead for about 5 minutes. Place it in a bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1-1 1/2 hours. 

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut out little round paczki shapes. I got 12 from this batch. You can re-roll the excess dough to cut a few more. Let those rise for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. In the meantime, heat your oil to 350 degrees F. 

4. Fry the Packzi about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove and let cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes.

5. Fill the packzi with filling of your choice. Cover in glaze or powdered sugar.

While searching for a recipe to make, I learned that paczki is plural and paczek is singular. Every time I said "paczkis" I sounded as silly as when Jake says "octopis." You learn something new every day!

I was planning to fill the paczki with raspberry jam for 3 reasons:

1. It is my favorite filling. 
2. It is easy.
3. We already had some.  

While we were discussing it the day before, Leighton said, "Well, you know what filling I want." I saw custard in my near future.

Custard Filling 

Ingredients:

5 large egg yolks                                     
3/4 cup cornstarch                                   
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, cornstarch, and 1 cup of the heavy cream. Whisk to blend well. Set aside. 

2. Combine the remaining 1 1/2 cups cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a large heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Whisk to dissolve the sugar and bring to a gentle boil, about 10 minutes. 

3. Slowly add the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly and cook until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Be forewarned: the mixture may break. Pour it into a glass bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap down over the surface of the mixture to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool completely at room temperature. 

4. When cooled pour the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a wire whip. Beat at a medium speed to combine the mixture (if it broke). If it will not combine, warm another 1/2 cup heavy cream and slowly add it to the mixture. Whip until you have a thick and creamy custard.

We filled half with the custard and half with raspberry. (Between you and me, the jam ones were better. Shh, don't tell my husband.) I did have a hard time filling them. I thought I had gotten a decent amount (like the whole inside!) of filling in each one. When we bit into them though, there was a drop. I just squirt more filling on the paczki. Then into the kids' mouths. They didn't even seem to mind. 

These were pretty good, but I am no Polish baker. Maybe I should work on that. Hey, did you notice my new candy thermometer? My husband really loves me. Or he really wanted that custard.


*UPDATE*

I've since made these paczki many times on Fat Tuesday. I now make the dough in my bread machine. Of course, I have to make both fillings each time, but alternate the toppings between powdered sugar, glaze, and chocolate ganache. No matter the combination, you can't go wrong with paczki!