Happy Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras makes me homesick for Mobile every year, so this year I decided to start an annual tradition of making a King Cake. This recipe makes 2, so Michael and I each took one to work. This was a perfect, classic king cake and we loved it!

For the cake:

1/4 cup butter

1 (16 oz) container sour cream

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 (.25 oz) envelopes active dry yeast

1 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 cup warm water

2 eggs

6 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1.2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, softened

Cook first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until butter melts. Cool mixture to warm. Dissolve yeast and 1 Tbsp sugar in 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Add butter mixture, eggs, and 2 cups flour. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixture 2 minutes or until smooth. Gradually stir in remaining flour to make soft dough. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a well greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (I put mine on top of the dryer while it was running) for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Stir together 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon, set aside. Punch dough down; divide in half. Turn one portion onto lightly floured surface and roll out to a 28 by 10 rectangle. Spread half of cinnamon mixture and softened butter on dough. Roll dough, jellyroll fashion, starting at long side. Place roll, seam side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bring ends together to form an oval ring, moistening and pinching edges together to seal. Repeat with other dough ball.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Decorate with bands of colored frosting and sprinkle with colored sugars.

Colored frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar

3 Tbsp butter, melted

3 Tbsp milk

1/4 tsp vanilla

2 drops each of green, yellow, red, and blue food coloring

Stir together powdered sugar and melted butter. Add milk to reach desired consistency. Stir in vanilla. Divide frosting into 3 batches. Tint one green (2 drops), one yellow (2 drops), and one purple (combine the red and blue drops).

Colored sugar

1 1/2 cups white sugar, divided

2 drops each of green, yellow, red, and blue food coloring

Place 1/2 cups sugar and green food coloring in ziplock bag. Seal and shake vigorously to evenly mix color with sugar. Repeat for each color (with the purple-combine the red and blue food coloring first, then combine with sugar).