Blueberry Cream Cheese King Cake

Yield

1 Cake, 8 portions

Time

4 hours

Equipment

• Kitchen Aid mixer Plastic Baby Sheet Tray with Parchment

Ingredients

• 1 package of active dry yeast
• ¾ cups warm milk
• ¼ cup raw cane sugar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons butter flavored shortening
• 1 large egg slightly beaten
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour divide, plus more for kneading
• 1 king cake baby
• Cinnamon Filling:
• 1 tablespoons oil
• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Cream Cheese Filling

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon water

Icing

• 8 oz. 1 ¾ cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• Purple green & yellow sugar sprinkles

Instructions

Sweet Dough:

1. Preheat oven to 170°F or warm, once hot, cut the oven off. In the bowl for your stand mixer, mix the yeast and warm milk together, let yeast bloom for 5 minutes. Add the sugar, kosher salt, shortening, egg, vanilla extract, cinnamon and 1 ¼ cup of flour, place bowl in stand mixer, attach dough hook and mix on low for 30 seconds. Add remaining flour and mix on low for 5 minutes, scrape bowl to help dough form to a soft ball of dough.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough 20 times until the dough is smooth, form into a ball and transfer to a lightly greased bowl, cover with a towel and pop in the warm oven for 30 minutes, dough will be slightly larger in size.

Cinnamon filling:

1. In a medium bowl mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and kosher salt together.

Cream Cheese filling:

1. In a medium bowl mix cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg yolks and vanilla until smooth.

Shaping King Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 170°F or warm, once hot, cut the oven off. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼ inch thickness and into a circular shape (a little larger than a 10-inch plate). Brush with oil and evenly spread cinnamon sugar over dough.
2. Cut dough into 3 equal length strips and spoon or pipe cream cheese mixture down the middle (this will be the time to add any fruit filling). Push the cinnamon sugar ½ inch from the sides. Brush both edges of the dough with egg wash. Fold one edge over the cream cheese, tuck and roll the dough like a cinnamon roll.
3. Braid dough tightly, then bring both ends together in an oval shape. Place king cake dough on a baking sheet, cover and rest for 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash before baking.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F; bake for 30-45 minutes until golden brown. Cool king cake for 20 minutes before placing the king cake baby inside a secret spot.

Icing:

1. While king cake cools, in a large bowl whisk together powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and salt until smooth and thick.; then smear icing evenly over king cake.
2. Quickly sprinkle with the colored sugars in a cross shape one at a time to the top, bottom, left and right. Then repeat with remaining colors. Enjoy immediately or cover with plastic wrap and keep in a cool place.

Pairings

Chicory Coffee.

References

• https://adashofsugarandspice.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/blueberry-and-cream-cheese-filled-king-cake/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibjMp-vYpLg
• https://kennethtemple.com/king-cake-with-cream-cheese-filling/