HOW TO MAKE A CAKE TO JUMP OUT OF RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350°F and prepare the baking dish. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray or butter.
• Prepare the crumble topping. Place the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add the butter and stir to combine. Add the flour and use a fork to stir and gently toss the flour into the mixture until big, slightly floury crumbs form; set aside.
• Mix the butter, sugar, and eggs for the cake. Place the butter and sugar for the cake in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (Alternatively, use an electric hand mixer and large bowl.) Beat on medium-high speed until fluffy and lightened in color. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat until each is incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Beat in the dry ingredients and sour cream. Place the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. With the mixer on low speed, beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 the sour cream. Beat in half of the remaining flour, followed by the remaining sour cream, and finish with the rest of the flour. Beat until there is no more dry flour in the batter, then increase the speed to high and beat just a few seconds until the batter is smooth and has no more lumps.
• Transfer the batter to the pan and sprinkle with the crumbs. Pour the batter into the pan and spread into an even layer. Using your hands, break up the reserved crumble mixture and sprinkle it evenly over the top.
• Bake the coffee cake for 40 to 50 minutes. Bake until the cake feels springy when you gently press the middle and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. If the crumbs start to get too browned and toasted before the cake is done, tent the top of the cake loosely with aluminum foil.
• Cool the cake. Transfer the baking dish to a wire rack and let the cake cool to room temperature.
• Drizzle the cake with icing. Place all the icing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake. Let the icing set for a few minutes before cutting the cake and serving.

Steps:

• Mix the dough. Combine the water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and let it dissolve. Stir in the butter, milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Add 3 cups of the flour and stir to form a shaggy dough. Reserve the remaining 1/2 cup of flour.
• Knead the dough. Using the dough hook attachment, begin kneading the dough on low speed. Continue kneading the dough until all the loose flour has been worked in, the dough comes together in a ball, and it feels smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. It will feel a bit more dense and malleable than regular bread dough — more like play dough. (Alternatively, turn the dough out on a lightly floured counter and knead by hand for about 10 minutes.) If the dough sticks to the bowl, the hook, or your hands, add a little of the reserved flour.
• Let the dough rise. Clean the bowl used to mix the dough and coat it lightly with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Shape the dough into a ball with your hands, set it in the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Roll the dough into a rectangle. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using floured hands, pat it into a rough rectangular shape, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a fairly thin rectangle roughly 24 inches wide by 10 inches tall.
• Spread the filling over the dough. Use a spatula to spread the butter in a thin layer all over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the top of the rectangle. Whisk together the sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle it evenly over the butter. Press the cinnamon sugar lightly with the palms of your hands or the rolling pin to help it stick to the butter.
• Hide the bean. Place the dried red bean or pecan half somewhere on the surface of the dough; it will be hidden once you roll up the dough. If you're using a plastic figurine in your cake, wait until after the cake is baked to add it.
• Roll up the dough. Starting at the long end closest to you, roll the dough up toward the top. A pastry scraper can help with this step if your dough sticks to the counter. Pinch the log of dough closed and roll it over onto the seam.
• Coil the log into a spiral. Curl the log of dough into a spiral and overlap the ends slightly so that the spiral is the same height all around. Pinch the dough lightly where the ends overlap so they form a seal. Transfer the spiral to a baking sheet lined with parchment.
• Let the dough rise again and preheat the oven. Drape the dough loosely with plastic wrap. Let it rise at room temperature until it looks puffed and slightly larger, 45 to 60 minutes. Halfway through the rising, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350°F.
• Bake the king cake. Bake until lightly browned and golden-brown on top, 30 to 40 minutes. A little syrupy filling might ooze onto the baking sheet; this is normal.
• Cool the cake. Let the cake cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer the cake onto a wire cooling rack. Let it cool completely to room temperature. If using a plastic figurine, gently push it into the underside of the cake so that it's hidden.
• Prepare the icing. Place the powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract in a small bowl and whisk together to create a thick, but pourable, icing. Add more milk 1/2 tablespoon at a time as needed to adjust the consistency. Leave the icing white if you're decorating the cake with colored sprinkles, or divide the icing into 3 bowls and tint each one a different color with food dyes.
• Decorate the cake. Drizzle the frosting over the cake in patches of different color, letting some icing drizzle down the sides. "Paint" the cake with as many different patches or strips as you like. Cover with colored sprinkles if desired.
• Store or serve. Let the icing dry completely before serving. If not serving immediately, loosely cover with plastic and store at room temperature — avoid the plastic touching the icing as much as possible, or wait to frost until just before serving.