Twelfth Night Cake Recipes

TWELFTH NIGHT CAKE - KINGS CAKE- EPIPHANY NOT MARDI GRAS

Steps:

• Beast butter at medium speed until creamy; gradually add brown sugar, beating well.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
• Combine 3 cups of flour, baking soda, and mace.
• Gradually add to the butter mixture. Mix at a low speed just until blended.
• Combine remaining 1/4 flour slivered almonds, raisins, currants, citron, and lemon peel until coated evenly.
• Stir mixture into batter.
• Spoon batter into three greased and wax paper-lined 9-inch round cake pans. (Drop bean and pea at this time). Bake at 375 for 30-35 or until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.
• Spread apricot filling between layers of cake. Spread White Buttercream Forsting on top and sides. Decorate as desired.
• White Buttercream Frosting:.
• Combine water and meringue powder in a large bowl; beat at high speed until soft peaks form.
• Add 4 cups of confectioners sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating at low speed after each addition. Add remianing sugar alternately with shortening, beating after each. Stir in flavorings.
• Yields: 7 cups frosting for one 3-layer cake.

TWELFTH NIGHT OR KING'S CAKE

Steps:

• To make the Cake, take a pound and a half of the above-mentioned quality of flour, and put it in a wooden bread trough. Make a hole in the center of the flour, and put in a half ounce of yeast, dissolved in a little warm water.Add milk or tepid water to make the dough, using milk if you want it to be very rich and delicate, and water if you have not the milk. Knead and mix the flour with one hand, while adding milk or water with the other. Make a dough that is neither too stiff or too soft, and when perfectly smooth set the dough to rise in a moderately warm place, covering with a cloth. Remember that if you use milk to make the dought it must be scalded, that is, must be heated to the boiling point, and then allowed to grow tepid.
• Let the dough rise for five or six hours, and, when increased to twice its bulk, take it and add the reserved half pound of flour, into which you will have sifted the salt. Add six eggs, beaten very light with the sugar and butter, and mix all well together, kneading lightly with your hands, and adding more eggs if the dough is a little stiff.
• Then knead the dough by turning it over on itself three times, and set to rise again for an hour or three-quarters of an hour. Cover with a cloth. At the end of this time take it up and work it again lightly, and then form into a great ring, leaving of course, a hole in the center. Pat gently and flatten a little. Have ready a baking pan, with a buttered sheet of paper in it, and set the central roll in the middle.
• Cover the pan with a clean, stiff cloth, and set the Cake to rise for an hour longer. When well risen, set in an oven a few degrees cooler than that used for baking bread (360°); let bake for an hour and a half; if medium, an hour, and if very small, a half hour. Glace the Brioche lightly with a beaten egg, spread lightly over the top before placing in the oven. Decorate with dragees (French: a small candy), caramels, etc.

TWELFTH NIGHT CAKE OR KING CAKE(GALETTE DES ROIS)

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 block of puff pastry to form a 10-inch square. Using a sharp knife, cut out a 10-inch round, using a dinner plate as a guide.
• Repeat this step with the second block of puff pastry.
• To make the filling, combine milk, butter, sugar, vanilla and cornstarch. Add the three lightly beaten eggs and mix until well blended.
• Cook in a pot at low heat stirring continually until it thickens or prepare this in the microwave stopping from time to time to stir it (I prefer to prepare this in the microwave).
• Now take from the heat away, add grated lemon zest, rum and ground almonds.
• Stir all together well.
• To assemble, place the undecorated round of pastry on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Spread almond filling over the circle, leaving a 1-inch border. Using a pastry brush, glaze the border with lightly beaten egg.
• Place a trinket or dried bean in the filling.
• Place the second round of pastry over the filling, pressing the edges to seal.
• Using a sharp paring knife, decorate one round with "s" cuts, like swirly spokes going from the centre to the edge of the round or make some cuts "v" shaped cuts with scissors.
• Glaze the top with lightly beaten egg.
• Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Remove and bake for 30 minutes, or until the pastry has puffed up and is golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Decorate with the gold paper crown.
• Note: if it is your first time observing this tradition, don't forget to warn everyone about the hidden charm or bean!

A GREAT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10-inch round springform cake pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper and spray parchment with cooking spray; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites and salt on high speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Transfer egg whites to a medium bowl.
• Clean mixer bowl and return to mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add butter to bowl and beat on high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides as necessary.
• Reduce mixer speed to medium and with the mixer running add egg whites to butter, 1 cup at a time, mixing until combined. Slowly add sugar, mixing until well combined. Add egg yolks and mix until combined.
• In a large bowl, sift together flour, mace, and nutmeg. With the mixer running add flour mixture to butter mixture, 1 cup at a time. Mix until well combined. Add raisins and almonds.
• Place apples and pears in a large bowl and cover with wine and brandy. Add apple mixture to mixer. Increase speed to high, mixing until well combined, about 15 seconds.
• Transfer cake batter to prepared pan, spreading evenly with a spatula. Transfer cake to oven and bake, rotating pan once halfway through baking, until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Remove cake from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Remove side of pan and transfer cake onto a baking sheet.
• Spread frosting all over top and sides of cake. Transfer cake to oven and bake until frosting is dry and brittle, about 1 hour. Frosting should shatter when cake is cut.

ENGLISH TWELFTH NIGHT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until pale and lemon-colored.
• In a separate bowl beat the eggs. Add the eggs and brandy to the butter-sugar mixture. Stir in the flour and spices and mix thoroughly. Add the raisins, almonds and good-luck bean. Mix thoroughly.
• Butter a 12-inch cake tin and line it with buttered wax paper. Pour in the cake mixture and bake for three hours. If the top browns too much during cooking, cover with foil.

KING'S CAKE

Steps:

• Make the dough. Sift the flour with the sugar, sea salt, lemon zest, and yeast into the bowl of a food processor. Process on low speed, then add the eggs. Continue processing just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add the orange-flower water and rum and continue processing just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Dice the candied orange peel, chop the butter into pieces, and add them both to the dough mixture. Process again just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Place the dough in a large bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Set aside to rise for 2 hours at room temperature.
• Punch down the dough then place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and punch it down again. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, roll out the dough into a square, and place it on the lined baking sheet. Bring the corners of the dough to the center and insert the bean. Turn the dough over and shape it into a ball. Press your thumb in the center to make a depression and push the dough out around it to form a ring or crown. Cover it with a damp cloth and set aside to rise until doubled in volume, at least 2 hours in a warm room (77°F to 82°F [25 to 28°C]).
• Preheat the oven to 360°F (180°C).
• Prepare the glaze. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, whole eggs, sugar, and salt. Brush the crown with the glaze. Dip a pair of scissors in water, and make cuts in the top of the cake, so it resembles the points of a crown. Place it in the oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes.
• Warm the apricot preserve or jelly, then strain it. Remove the cake from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack, then brush with the jam. Sprinkle with the pearl sugar and decorate with strips of the candied melon, candied orange, and coarsely chopped almonds.