As much as we love picking up king cakes from our favorite bakeries during Carnival Season, there’s really nothing better than freshly baked. We’ve developed a versatile Danish pastry-style king cake dough that allows for endless experimentation. This Chocolate King Cake is a decadent twist on the traditional Mardi Gras treat.
King Cake Dough
Ingredients
- 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ⅓ cup plus ½ teaspoon sugar, divided
- ⅓ cup warm water (105° to 110°)
- ½ cup plain sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed and softened
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine yeast, ½ teaspoon sugar, and ⅓ cup warm water. Let stand until mixture is foamy, about 7 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, vanilla, eggs, and egg yolk. Add to yeast mixture. Beat at low speed until combined, about 1 minute.
- With mixer off, add flour, salt, and remaining ⅓ cup sugar. Beat at medium- low speed until most of dry ingredients are moistened. Increase mixer speed to medium; beat for 2 minutes. Add butter; beat until combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape out dough onto a lightly floured surface (dough will be sticky), and gently knead 4 or 5 times.
- Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let stand in a warm, draft-free place (75°) until doubled in size, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Continue with king cake recipes that follow.
Notes
Tip: To prevent dough from spreading inward, place a ball of foil coated with baking spray with flour in the center of the dough circle before baking.
Chocolate King Cake
Ingredients
- King Cake Dough (recipe follows)
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped and divided (2½ cups)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 3 tablespoons warm whole milk
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 8 tablespoons heavy whipping cream, divided
- ⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Garnish: yellow sugar, purple sugar, green sugar
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Punch King Cake Dough down. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 17x16-inch rectangle.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine 1⅔ cups chopped chocolate and 2 tablespoons butter. Microwave on medium for 1 minute; stir. Continue microwaving in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in warm milk and cocoa. Spread in a thin layer over dough.
- Starting with one short side, roll up dough, and pinch seams to seal. Gently place on prepared pan, seam side down. Form a ring, and pinch ends together to seal. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°) until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Uncover cake. Using kitchen scissors, make 7 (¼-inch) deep cuts in top of dough. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes, lightly covering with foil during last 5 minutes of baking to prevent excess browning, if necessary. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Transfer to a serving platter.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine 6 tablespoons cream, remaining chopped chocolate, and remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Microwave on medium for 1 minute; stir. Continue microwaving in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Add remaining 2 tablespoons cream if needed. Spread over cake. Sprinkle with colored sugars. Let stand until glaze is set.
Of all the King Cake recipes I’ve tried to make so far, this one was my kids’ favorite. It tasted great and would have been perfect if I’d remembered to stash baby Jesus in the chocolate before rolling it up. Adding him later didn’t really work out so well.
This Chocolate King Cake recipe is super-delish!! Made it last year and thought I’d botched it (the “ring” was not very beautiful), but adding the lip-smacking glaze and colored sucgars and trinkets really elevated the look (more bling fixes a lot of problems ;). But the TASTE!! Out of this world. Digging the recipe out to go again this year. Thank you!!