KING CAKE DESIGN RECIPES

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.