# King Cake Recipes



## nola-luvr (Feb 12, 2012)

Hi, I am in search of a good king cake recipe that approximates a commercially baked cake. For those of you not familiar with king cakes, please see http://www.gumbopages.com/carnival-faq.html#king-cake. It's traditionally a seasonal Mardi Gras product although now bakeries will ship them year round. An example recipe that I've tried is from John Besh (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/King-Cake-356833). King cakes have been based on brioche doughs and many are also similar to cinnamon rolls like the one above from Manny Randazzo's (in my opinion, the best in the city). I've tried several recipes and they come out all right, but usually the crust is a little too thick and bread-like, not soft enough like ones from commercial bakeries, and also the crumb or inside (not sure if that term applies here) is usually too dense. So, a few questions to begin, what type of flour should I use? Cake, pastry, AP, bread, etc? I understand that the different ones as listed go from lower to higher protein content, just not sure which I should use. I believe one of the local bakeries uses Dawn Danish and Sweet Dough mix, but I haven't tried this yet (I can get almost anything through my family's restaurant). Also, in talkingt with the baker at the local Whole Food, he recommeded canola oil rather than butter and he said "liquid eggs" which I took to mean a product like egg beaters? Should I try egg whites rather than whole eggs or yolks (see Besh's recipe)? I guess the other burning question for now is about home vs commercial ovens. What are the differences and will I be able to actually obtain bakery quality with the right recipe if I bake in my home convection oven? Any help will be greatly appreciated!! I'll experiment until I get something that seems right. Thanks!

Bart


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