Sourdough King Cake
Living Liturgically for Epiphany
The end of the holidays is always a bit of a bummer and, in modern America, comes so absurdly abruptly. My grandmother, a staunch Baptist, always had her tree down by the end of Christmas Day. But, traditionally, the end of the Christmas season is actually the beginning of Carnivale and lets you drag out the celebrating until you’re ready for a bit of austerity with Lent. Epiphany, or the twelfth day of Christmas, celebrates the coming of the three magi to meet Baby Jesus, and is traditionally celebrated on January 6, though in the United States, it is customarily moved to the preceding Sunday. Throughout France, the Pyrenees, and Spain, cakes of various sorts but generally involving bright colored fruits, named after the three kings, are made on Epiphany. And, the tradition got carried over to Louisiana, although the style of cake is quite different. As the daughter of a New Orleanean, who grew up receiving bags of Mardi Gras beads from my other grandmother (very much not a staunch Baptist), I am partial to Louisiana king cakes, and this recipe is a sourdough take on that tradition. I try to avoid artificial colors and flavors in my cooking, mostly because it seems healthier and is a fun challenge, but colored sugar can be substituted for the garnishes I suggest.
The Dough
Ingredients:
2/3 cup milk
2 tbsp unsalted butter melted
1 egg
1/2 cup active starter
2 tbsp white sugar
2 1/2 cups white flour
1 tsp salt
zest of 1 lemon
oil
Steps:
The evening before you want to eat your king cake, mix thoroughly but not vigorously milk, butter, egg, starter, and sugar.
Add flour, salt, and lemon zest and mix with a dough whisk (or dough hook if using a kitchenaid) or by hand. Once mixed, knead dough for about five minutes (I like to do this by hand, but you can use a kitchenaid).
Oil a clean bowl and transfer the dough to that bowl. Seal bowl with a beeswax or plastic wrap and let rise overnight. This should take between 7 and 9 hours.
The following morning, divide the dough into two equal parts and roll each part into about 8 by 4 inch rectangles.
Spread the filling on each rectangle and roll up as if you were making cinnamon rolls.
Instead of cutting your rolls, join their ends together and twist them around each other to make a thick rope. This will get messy, but that’s okay. Join the ends of the rope into a crown.
Transfer to a baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Proof at room temperature for about 2 hours or until dough has become puffed.
Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 25-30 minutes. My oven runs hot and it took me 25 minutes. Let cool. Drizzle with glaze and sprinkle with butterfly pea flower powder, matcha powder, and the zest of another lemon. Purple, green, and yellow are the colors of Mardi Gras and Carnivale.
The Filling
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
Mix everything together before rolling out the dough.
The Glaze
Ingredients:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Juice of a lemon
Dash of water
For garnishing:
1-2 tsp Butterfly pea flower powder
1-2 tsp Matcha Powder
Zest of one lemon
Mix together powdered sugar, lemonjuice, and water and drizzle over king cake. You can cut down on lemon juice and water to achieve the flavor and thickness you want. Sprinkle with matcha powder, butterfly pea flower powder, and lemon zest. I alternated patches of matcha and butterfly pea flower powder to recreate the effect of colored sugar on traditional king cakes.
