Love Mardi Gras? Heart-shaped king cake meets holidays in the middle
Sweetheart King Cake is a colorful and impressive twist on the traditional Mardi Gras king cake. Forming the king cake into a heart shape adds a festive touch to Valentine’s Day and gives your Mardi Gras celebration extra meaning.
The sweet cinnamon and sugar filling takes this king cake over the top, while the cream cheese frosting and Valentine’s sprinkles provide a decadent spin on this classic Mardi Gras treat.
Every Carnival season, I make a king cake for a Mardi Gras celebration. This year, Fat Tuesday is the day before Valentine’s Day. Therefore, I decided to add a fun twist to this quintessential Mardi Gras delicacy by forming the king cake into a heart shape.
To achieve a perfect heart shape, I cut the cinnamon-filled dough into cinnamon rolls. Then, I lined a heart-shaped pan with the cinnamon rolls and let the yeast work its magic.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Creative: Adding this creative twist to a Mardi Gras classic provides a memorable and festive Valentine’s Day treat.
Simple: Cinnamon rolls provide a simple and delicious base for the king cake, with the bread machine doing most of the work. Cinnamon rolls are easier to use when forming the heart shape than a single cinnamon-filled dough log.
Impressive: This Sweetheart King Cake looks impressive when decorated with luscious cream cheese frosting and colorful sprinkles. It does a double duty for Valentine’s Day and Fat Tuesday.
Customizable: I decided to fill the cinnamon rolls with a cinnamon and brown sugar filling. However, use your imagination for different fillings to suit one’s taste.
This unique Sweetheart King Cake is certain to impress your guests. With just a few ingredients and a dash of creativity, you’ll have a beautiful and delicious Valentine-themed king cake ready for Fat Tuesday.
Laissez les bon temps rouler.
Sweetheart King Cake
Serves 12
Ingredients
Tangzhong (A flour and milk paste that adds moisture to the dough)
¾ cup (6 ounces, 170 grams) milk
4 Tablespoons (1.2 ounces, 34 grams) bread flour
Sweetheart King Cake Dough
Tangzhong from above
1 cup (8 ounces, 227) grams milk
6 Tablespoons (3 ounces, 85 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 Tablespoons (1.31 ounces, 37 grams) granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
3 cups (15 ounces, 425 grams) bread flour
1 Tablespoon bread machine yeast
Sugar/Cinnamon Filling
¾ cup (5.63 ounces, 160 grams) light brown sugar, packed
3 Tablespoons (0.94 ounces, 27 grams) bread flour
5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons (1 ounce, 28 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup (2 ounces, 57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 ½ cups (10 ounces, 284 grams) confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons milk, if needed to achieve the property consistency
Valentine's Sprinkles
Directions
Tangzhong
Whisk together ¾ cup milk and 4 ½ tablespoons bread flour in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until a paste forms, about 8 minutes. The Tangzhong is ready when a spoon leaves a line in the pan. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
Sweetheart King Cake Dough
Add the Tangzhong from above, along with the milk, butter, sugar, salt, bread flour, and yeast to the pan of a bread machine. Program on the dough cycle.
When the dough cycle finishes, transfer the dough to a floured surface. Divide the dough in half. Wrap half of the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a later use.
Roll the remaining dough into a 10-inch by 15-inch rectangle.
Sugar/Cinnamon Filling
Whisk together the brown sugar, bread flour, cinnamon, and salt. Add the melted butter and stir until the ingredients are well combined.
Spread the sugar/cinnamon filling on the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on one of the long sides.
Sweetheart King Cake
Spray a 10-inch heart-shaped pan with non-stick spray; line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
Starting on the non-border long side, tightly roll up the dough. Pinch edges to seal. Trim the ends and cut into 12 cinnamon rolls, approximately 1 ¼-inches each. Place cinnamon rolls around the outer part of the prepared pan. Place a 4-inch metal heart-shaped ring in the center of the pan.
Cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm location until double in size, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Bake the cinnamon roll cake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a deep golden brown. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack; remove parchment paper and metal ring. Invert again onto wire rack; place rack in aluminum foil-lined baking pan with sides.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add confectioners’ sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add up to 2 teaspoons of milk to achieve the proper consistency.
While cinnamon rolls are still warm, spoon on the icing. Allow the icing to drip down the sides and the middle. Sprinkle with Valentine’s sprinkles.
Yield: One Sweetheart King Cake.
Chula King is the blogger behind PudgeFactor.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Heart-shaped king cake recipe doubles the holiday love
