Mardi Gras Sweet Treats

Let the good times roll! Today marks the 8th anniversary of this blog, and I'm thanking all of you with some recipes and tips from my Mardi Gras Sweet Treats class. 

Use these to create your own celebration this weekend...and don't forget to post your comments and photos. Here's to many more years of food, culture, and fun ahead! 

King Cake
 
Brightly decorated with purple, green, and gold, the King Cake symbolizes New Orleans and Mardi Gras. Stuffed with a sweet filling, the cake is shaped into a ring and baked. Then a small plastic baby is hidden inside, and the person who gets the slice with baby in it wins, and has to host the next party.

Serves: 12  

Ingredients:

PASTRY:
½  cup milk
2 Tablespoons butter
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 cups all-purpose flour

FILLING:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup melted butter

FROSTING:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons water
Gold, green, and purple sprinkles

Preparation

1.    Heat milk, remove from heat and stir in butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2.    When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the egg. Stir in the remaining sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
3.    Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about an hour. When risen, punch down and set aside.
4.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
5.    To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, flour and raisins. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.
6.    Roll dough out into a large rectangle (approximately 10x16 inches). Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of the roll together to form an oval shaped ring.
7.    Place the ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
8.    Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes. Push the doll into the bottom of the cake.
9.    Blend the confectioners' sugar blended with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water and whisk to combine.
10.    Glaze cake, section by section, and place sprinkles over the top.


Beignets

Classic French beignets are made with a choux pastry

(the same as that used to create cream puffs and eclairs). In New Orleans, however, Café du Monde has made the bread-like yeast dough version world renowned. In honor of Mardi Gras, we’re recreating this NOLA version.
 
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
¾ cup warm water (105° to 115°), divided
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup  milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
3 cups bread flour, or all purpose
Oil for frying
Sifted powdered sugar to garnish

Preparation

1. Make the yeast mixture: Combine yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, and 1 tsp. granulated sugar in bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer; let stand 5 minutes. Add milk, eggs, salt, and remaining granulated sugar.
2. Heat remaining 1/2 cup water until hot (about 115°); stir in butter until melted. Add to yeast mixture. Beat at low speed, gradually adding 2 cups flour, until smooth. Gradually add remaining 1 cup flour, beating until a sticky dough forms. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl; turn to grease top. Cover and let rise for an hour at room temperature or chill in refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours.
3. Roll and cut: Turn dough out onto a floured surface; roll to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into 2 1/2-inch squares.
4. Fry until golden: Pour oil to depth of 2 to 3 inches into a Dutch oven, fryer, or large skillet; heat to 360°. Fry dough, in batches, 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and rain on a wire rack. Dust immediately with powdered sugar.


 Chiacchiere al forno/Baked Sweet Carnevale Fritters 

Chiacchiere mean “little chats” or “little gossips” and they have become synonymous with carnevale and all of it’s scandals. In Italy, there is a saying that “ogni fritto vale” which means “every fried food counts” – it is a spiff on the term “ogni scherzo vale” which means “every joke counts” at carnevale time. Most versions are tied into knots and fried – but some people prefer to bake theirs into a crispy, sweet cracker, which is what we will since we have 2 fried treats on our menu already.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour (00 preferable)
1 teaspoon butter, melted
¼ cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons rum, white wine, or other liqueur
½ cup powdered sugar for sprinkling
Pinch of salt

Preparation:

Combine everything in a large bowl, or in the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer, and mix to combine.
Turn out onto a clean surface and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
After the dough has chilled, roll it out to a 14 – inch rectangle.
Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
Cut dough into 1 –inch wide strips, twisting in the middle,  and place on parchment paper lined baking sheets.
Bake for approximately 10 minutes, until hard.
Remove from oven, allow to cool, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.