This year, I decided, it was time to stray from the harvest theme.  I was looking through my cookbooks, feeling uninspired, when I resolved to make my own cake.  No recipe.  No guide.  I would just with it.

And that’s when it hit me.  Anything could be a cake.  I didn’t have to find a cake recipe online or in a book.  I wasn’t confined to the traditional notions of what could or could not become a cake.  So that’s when I decided to just grab my idea and run with it.

Two years ago, Caitlin and I had made white chocolate- and chocolate chip-blondies, and loved them, returning to the recipe whenever we were in the need for a quick sweet.  Thinking back to these blondies, I wondered if they couldn’t be made into a cake.  Then, I thought that they could probably be made into a cake.  And, after that, I simply resolved to make them into one fabulous cake, complete with white chocolate icing.

And fabulous it was!

BLONDIE LAYER CAKE WITH WHITE Chocolate ICING

PREP TIME: 30 minutes
COOK TIME: 30 minutes
ASSEMBLING TIME: 30 minutes
YIELD: Serves 16 to 20

WHAT TO GRAB:
BLONDIE LAYERS
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
3/4 cup White Chocolate Chips
3/4 cup Chocolate Chips

ICING
12 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups Confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cream
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, very finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

BLONDIE BAKING

2.  In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars until well blended.  Add the egg whites and vanilla, and mix until fully incorporated.

3.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Working in batches, add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture.  Mix until just incorporated.  Add the white chocolate and chocolate chips, and mix into the batter.

4.  Generously grease three round cake tins.  Divide the batter evenly among the three tins.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow the blondies to cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes.  Then remove the blondies from the pan and allow to completely cool on a wire rack.

ICING ON THE CAKE

5.  Adding the sugar in batches, cream the butter and confectioners’ sugar.  Add the vanilla, salt, and cream, and whip until smooth.  Do not overwhip or you will ruin the icing!  Finally, add the finely chopped white chocolate chips.

6.  Place a small dollop of icing in the middle of the cake platter (this will help prevent the cake from moving too much).  Place one blondie layer on the platter.  Apply icing to the first layer.  Place a second blondie layer, upside down, on top of the first layer (so that there is a flat bottom on top).  Apply icing to the second layer.  Place the third blondie layer on top, right side up.  Apply icing to the sides of the cake.  If there is icing left over — and you are so inclined — apply icing to the top of the cake.

7.  Slice and serve!

When Caitlin and I were in San Francisco last month, we stopped in the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero.  It was around 11:00 a.m. and, even though had lunch plans in an hour, we thought it would be fun to wander through the marketplace.  We shared a sorbet from the Ciao Bella stand and then went across the hall to a small food store to find (something else) to hold me over until lunch.

At the checkout stand, there was a tin bin, filled with several varieties of caramels.  I can’t remember the different kinds, but I do know that we grabbed two or three to have “later.”

When we had gone to Santa Fe, I posted a cornbread recipe inspired by that trip.  After sampling the sourdough at Boudin Bakery, I thought it would be fun to try to make my own sourdough.  Unfortunately, creating the sourdough starter seemed a little intimidating.  So, subsequent thoughts turned towards our trip through the Ferry Building.  And that’s when I settled on these caramels.

These caramels were really easy to make and turned out so well.  They turned out so well, in fact, that I decided it was not safe to keep all twenty of them in my apartment.  The morning I rolled them, I promptly went to the Post Office and mailed Caitlin half of them, knowing that her will-power vastly exceeded my own!

Homemade sea salt caramels

PREP TIME: Requires a few hours of cooling
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
YIELD: 16 to 20 Caramels

WHAT TO GRAB:
Vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.  Lightly brush the paper with the vegetable oil.

2.  In a small pot, bring the cream, butter, and one teaspoon of the sea salt to a simmer, over medium heat.  Do not let it boil.  Once it has reached a simmer, turn off the heat, and set it aside.

3.  In a deep saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar.  Over medium-high heat, stir only until the sugar has dissolved.  Then allow the mixture to boil, without stirring, until the mixture is a warm, golden brown.  Watch very carefully, as the caramel can burn quickly toward the end.  (It can be helpful to use a wooden spoon and drip some of the caramel onto a white plate to gauge the exact color).

4.  When the sugar mixture is done, remove it from the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture.  Be careful because it will bubble up violently.  Stir in the vanilla.

5.  Return the mixture to the heat and cook over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm ball), about 10 minutes.  Pour the caramel into the prepared pan.  (Don’t scrape the pot).  Refrigerate for a few hours, until firm.

6.  Remove the caramel from the refrigerator and allow it to come close to room temperature.  Pry the caramel from the pan.  On a cutting board, cut the square in half.  Using parchment paper, roll each piece of caramel into a tight 8- to 10-inch log.  Sprinkle the logs with sea salt.  Cut each log into 3/4-inch or 1-inch pieces.  Individually wrap each caramel in glassine or parchment paper, twisting the ends.  Store in the refrigerator or in an air-tight container.

After making my cream caramels, I decided it would be fun to experiment.  In particular, I was curious to know if the recipe would work with low-fat milk instead of cream.  Unfortunately, my adherence to the scientific method was somewhat lackluster.  Instead of introducing a single variable, I introduced two:  pistachios and low-fat milk.

These caramels were not as soft as the plain ones, but they were not altogether hard.  I suspect, though, that it was the chopped pistachios and not the absence of cream that made these caramels a little harder.  On the topic of taste, I’m happy to report that these caramels were just nearly every bit as wonderful as the ones with cream.  They lacked a little touch of the “creaminess” – for lack of a better word – that the originals had, but the difference is incredibly slight.

I’m happy to report, then, that these low-fat caramels were every bit as wonderful as the original cream caramels!

low-fat Vanilla-pistachio caramels

PREP TIME: Requires a few hours of cooling
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
YIELD: 16 to 20 Caramels

WHAT TO GRAB:
Vegetable oil
1 cup vanilla-sugar (recipe here)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup low-fat milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/4 or 1/3 cup finely chopped pistachios

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.  Lightly brush the paper with the vegetable oil.

2.  In a small pot, bring the milk, butter, and one teaspoon of the sea salt to a simmer, over medium heat.  Do not let it boil.  Once it has reached a simmer, turn off the heat, and set it aside.

3.  In a deep saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar.  Over medium-high heat, stir only until the sugar has dissolved.  Then allow the mixture to boil, without stirring, until the mixture is a warm, golden brown.  Watch very carefully, as the caramel can burn quickly toward the end.  (It can be helpful to use a wooden spoon and drip some of the caramel onto a white plate to gauge the exact color).

4.  When the sugar mixture is done, remove it from the heat and slowly add the butter-milk mixture to the sugar mixture.  Be careful because it will bubble up violently.  Stir in the vanilla.

5.  Return the mixture to the heat and cook over medium-low heat until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm ball), about 10 minutes.  Finally, stir in the chopped pistachios.  Pour the caramel into the prepared pan.  (Don’t scrape the pot).  Refrigerate for a few hours, until firm.

6.  Remove the caramel from the refrigerator and allow it to come close to room temperature.  Pry the caramel from the pan.  On a cutting board, cut the square in half.  Using parchment paper, roll each piece of caramel into a tight 8- to 10-inch log.  Sprinkle the logs with sea salt.  Cut each log into 3/4-inch or 1-inch pieces.  Individually wrap each caramel in glassine or parchment paper, twisting the ends.  Store in the refrigerator or in an air-tight container.

Two years ago, Caitlin and I designed the Grim Peeper, our submission for the Washington Post’s annual Peep Contest.  Unfortunately, we haven’t had the time to collaborate on any recent peep project.

And yet, I still had a bag or two of those yellow marshmallows sitting around the kitchen, chirping to be used.  Around Easter, I noticed a few food blogs featuring bird’s nests, combining chow mein noodles with some of the ubiquitous bagged candy.

Though I liked the concept, the idea of chow mein noodles and chocolate did not sound appealing.  Pretzel sticks and chocolate, however, sounded like a winner.  And with that in mind, I set out to mold my own pretzel nests, complete with chocolate eggs and sitting birds.

*Before handling the melted marshmallows, be sure to allow the mixture to cool a little.  Otherwise, you’re likely to get burned.  It’s also helpful to grease your fingers with vegetable oil.  Finally, mold the pretzels into a basic form at first.  After a few minutes, the treats will have settled, and will be easier to mold into a more precise and detailed shape.

birds’ nests

PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 10 minutes
YIELD: 10 Big Nests or 20 Small Nests

WHAT TO GRAB:
3/4 of a 1-pound bag of thin pretzel sticks
1 10-ounce bag of large marshmallows
4 tablespoons butter
Shredded coconut
Whoppers Robin Eggs (I like the miniature eggs)
1 bag of Peeps

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Grease a muffin tin.  I used a large muffin tin (with six tins), but a mini-muffin tin would probably work even better.

2.  In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Once the butter is completely melted, add the marshmallows.  Stir the combination until the marshmallows are completely melted, and have mixed with the butter.

3.  Working in batches, break a handful of pretzel sticks in half, and then add the pretzels to the sauce pan.  Keep adding the pretzel sticks until you have added about three-fourths of the bag, and the pretzel sticks are well-coated with the melted marshmallows.  Once you have finished adding the pretzels, remove the pan from the heat, and allow the mixture to cool briefly.

4.  Coat your hands with vegetable oil.  Working quickly, remove the pretzels, and press them into the muffin tins.  Once you have molded the pretzels into the shape of a nest, you can remove them from the tins, and allow them to cool.

5.  Once cool, add the shredded coconut, the robin eggs, and a peep.  Serve!

As I’ve noted before, it’s important to have a food gameplan when picking Caitlin up from the airport.  That means having a restaurant and itinerary picked out in advance of pick-up.

In addition, I also like to have a snack waiting for Caitlin when she arrives – a little something to tide her over during the drive back into the city.  Often, the snack is home-made, something sweet that I’ve made either that day, or the day before.  Occasionally, though, time gets ahead of me, and I have to settle on something from the store.

But whether it was store-bought or home-made, I had, apparently, developed a steady habit of having a snack in the car on those airport trips.  To the point where I had created a nearly Pavlovian connection between the airport and baked goods.

Sure enough, back in late February, I neglected to bring anything in the car when I left my apartment and headed to CVG.  I walked with Caitlin back to the parking garage, loaded her suitcase in the back, and watched as she searched, in vain, for that blue container of baked goods.  There was nothing hidden, I told her, a pang of guilt in my voice, not realizing the extent  of my satisfaction in watching Caitlin enjoy her snack.

With that in mind, I made sure to have a dessert waiting when I pulled up at Atlanta-Hartsfield one night, in early March.  This is the dessert that awaited her.*

*I made two versions of this dessert; one with Andes mints in the middle, and one with York peppermint patties in the middle.  Between the two, I preferred the peppermint patties.  The peppermint patties are thicker, with a slightly stronger mint flavor.  Their bright white color also provides a nice color contrast to the chocolate of the brownie.

mint chocolate brownies

Recipe from Martha Stewart.

PREP TIME: 30 minutes
COOK TIME: 45 to 55 minutes
YIELD: Makes 16 Brownies

WHAT TO GRAB:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
24 small (1 1/2 inch) peppermint patties

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.  Butter the foil. Set aside.

2.  Place the chopped chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of gently simmering water (to form a double-boiler). Stir occasionally, just until melted, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Be sure not to let any water get in the melting chocolate, or it will become unworkable.

3.  Remove the bowl from the heat. Whisk in the sugar and salt until smooth, then whisk in the eggs. Gently whisk in the flour and cocoa powder just until smooth (do not overmix).

4.  Spread 1/3 of batter in the prepared pan.  Arrange the peppermint patties on the batter in a single layer, leaving a very narrow border on all sides. Top with the remaining batter, and smooth surface. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes (ours was about 50 minutes).

5.  Cool completely in the pan. Use the foil to lift from pan, then discard the foil.  Cut into squares and serve!

So I was particularly excited when I saw that Caitlin had stuffed an issue into my Christmas stocking.  This is the first recipe we tried from the issue – and we loved it!  It was super moist and super gingery:  just what we wanted!

classic gingerbread cake

Recipe adapted from Cook’s Illustrated (Feb. 2011).

PREP TIME: 30 minutes
COOK TIME: 35 to 45 minutes
YIELD: Serves 8 to 10

WHAT TO GRAB:
3/4 cup dark stout (we used an oatmeal stout beer)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup mild molasses
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting pan)
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and lightly flour 8-inch square baking pan.

2.  Bring stout to a boil in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in baking soda (careful: the mixture will foam vigorously).  When the foaming subsides, stir in the molasses, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, until dissolved.  Set the mixture aside.

3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and black pepper.  Be sure the black pepper is very finely ground (you can smash it with a knife if necessary).

4.  Transfer the stout mixture to a large bowl.  Whisk in the eggs, oil, and grated ginger until combined.  Working in thirds, whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture.  Stir vigorously until smooth after each addition.

5.  Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and gently tap the pan against the counter to dislodge any large air bubbles.  Bake until the top of the cake is just firm to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean from the center – about 35 to 45 minutes (40 minutes for us).  Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack, about 1 hour.  Cut into squares and serve!  You can top with pickled ginger!

A few months ago, in one of my nightly phone dates with Charles, the topic of Valentine’s Day came up. Since we live in Memphis and Cincinnati this year, we were planning to spend the holiday apart, a reality that left me somewhat bummed.

Now, I’m not wedded (pun intended) to the February 14 greeting card extravaganza, but the prospect of spending the night alone was still unappealing. So, after agreeing to acknowledge the occasion on our next visit, Mr. Romance reminded me that Valentine’s Day “is really just a holiday for women to receive flowers and chocolates.” Which, of course, gave me the perfect idea for my Valentine’s gift to Charles: truffles.

I started making truffles years ago in college as a cost-conscious but meaningful holiday gift for friends and neighbors. Indeed, these little orbs of ganache serve as an excellent (and pretty!) treat suitable for any holiday. Or for everyday use, because who can really say no to truffles? And, provided that you have a little patience and a willingness to get your hands dirty, truffle-making is about as simple as it gets. While the foundation of any truffle is a basic ganache, which is a mixture of cream and melted chocolate, the flavor possibilities are endless.

Over the years, I’ve experimented with a wide variety, including classic dark chocolate, espresso, cayenne-infused, hazelnut encrusted, and cognac. Charles, however, is a fan of neither dark chocolate nor coffee, so I opted instead to indulge his affinity for white chocolate with a white-chocolate chai truffle. Who says that women are the sole recipients of Valentine’s Day chocolates?!

Happy truffle making!

white-chocolate chai truffles

Caitlin’s Recipe!

PREP TIME: 10 minutes
DOWN TIME: 75 minutes for cooling
COOK TIME: 5 minutes
YIELD: 15 to 20 Truffles

WHAT TO GRAB:
6 ounces high-quality, white-chocolate, chopped (Caitlin likes Ghirardelli)
4 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or caviar from 1 vanilla bean)
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

HOW YOU DO IT:

1. Pour the cream into a small heatproof bowl and place over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the water does not come into direct contact with the bowl. Stir the cream with a wire whisk until heated through (i.e. warm to the touch).

2. Combine the spices in a small mixing bowl; set aside.

3. Stir the white chocolate into the cream until it is melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the double-boiler, and stir in the vanilla and about one-half of the spice mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator to cool for approximately 1 hour. When ready, the ganache should be firm but pliable enough to scoop.

4. Using either a teaspoon or a small ice cream scoop, place mounds of the ganache onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate again, for 15 minutes.

5. Remove the sheet from refrigerator and roll the ganache mounds in the palms of your hands to create rounded truffles. Try to work quickly; the truffles become stickier as they warm to room temperature. Depending on size, this recipe yields about 15-20 truffles.

6. Dust truffles with the remaining spices, cinnamon, or powdered sugar. If you plan to ship the truffles or give them away as gifts, as I did, you can purchase candy cups and boxes from a craft store like Michael’s.

7. Store the finished truffles in the refrigerator, but allow them to come to room temperature before eating.

*DELICIOUS VARIATIONS

You can create milk- or dark-chocolate truffles using the same ganache recipe but substituting your desired type of chocolate. When making chocolate truffles, I usually add 1 teaspoon of instant coffee, which contributes to the depth of flavor without adding a discernible coffee taste. You can coat the truffles with toasted hazelnuts, toffee pieces, crushed peppermints, or melted chocolate. The possibilities are endless, and the results are reliably delicious!

I’m a sucker for a good recipe contest.  Cooking, for me, is already a fun and creative hobby.  So the thought of prize money is just icing on top.

One day in the supermarket, I passed a giant display of Ritz Crackers, complete with football goal posts, inflated balloons, and a nearly life-size cutout of Guy Fieri.  Drawing closer, I saw that Kraft was running a recipe contest for its Ritz Crackers.  With a grand prize of $20,000, I decided to grab a box or two, and see what I could do.

My first thought was toward a cookie.  I had really enjoyed Caitlin’s salted oat cookies, and thought the natural saltiness of the crackers would be a great component of a cookie.  I also had some experience in the cookie-crushing category, and was confident that a crushed bag of crackers was not a recipe for disaster.

After playing with the ratios for several batches, I finally settled on my flour to cracker ratio.  Too much flour, I realized, would make the cookies puffy and uncooked in the middle, almost biscuit-like.  Too little flour, and the cookies resembled lace cookies.  By the third batch I had it right.  From there, I decided on a sweetener.  In an ode to the classic peanut butter and Ritz Cracker combination, I jammed a full cup of peanut butter chips into the dough to finish off my cookies.

My submission for the recipe contest was complete:

Ritz cracker cookies with peanut butter chips

Recipe prepared for the Ritz Crackers Contest.

PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOK TIME: 13 minutes
YIELD: 24 Cookies

WHAT TO GRAB:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
14 tablespoons all-purpose flour (1 cup less 2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 1/2 cups crushed Ritz Crackers (about 50 crackers)
1 cup peanut butter chips

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Empty about 50 crackers (around a package and a half) into a plastic bag.  Using a rolling pin or the bottom of a jar, break up the Ritz Crackers into very small pieces.

2.  In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars.  Add the egg and vanilla, and mix well.

3.  In a small mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Working in batches, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, until well-mixed.  Mix in the crushed Ritz Crackers, then the peanut butter chips.

4.  Form the dough into 1-inch balls and place the rounds onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 13 minutes, or until just beginning to brown at the edges.

5.  Briefly cool the cookies on a wire rack, then serve warm!

*The cookies will harden overnight.  To soften the cookies, wrap a few cookies in foil, and heat them in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 to 8 minutes.

Of all the foods characteristic of New Orleans – from pralines to muffalettas – my all-time favorite remains the King Cake (la galette des Rois).

I can remember gathering around the large loaf in grade school, eagerly holding out my plate, and wondering if my piece would be the lucky piece.  If the teacher was feeling generous that day, she might indulge our personal choices, and allow us to select that prized piece ourselves.  There were those that favored the edge pieces.  Others favored a particular color of icing – be it green, yellow, or purple – certain that good luck lay beneath it.  And others still allowed simple chance to play its part.

I don’t remember what my particular stratagem may have been, but given the importance of the situation, I certainly had one.  You see, hidden in the dough was a small plastic baby.  And whoever pulled the baby from his or piece was king or queen for the day.

In grade school, this was no mere sinecure.  You might be head of the lunch line or get to take your nap time in the loft.  You might get to choose the book at story time, or be the first to choose your art materials.  King or queen for a day was a serious matter.  Most importantly, though, the recipient of the baby was charged with bringing the next king cake for the class.

Given it’s convenience, we often stopped by the McKenzie’s Bakery on Carrollton Avenue, the green and white sign a beacon of sorts during the  King Cake season (officially from the Epiphany until Mardi Gras day).  Sadly, McKenzie’s is no longer in business, having filed for bankruptcy in 2001, despite operating for over 70 years and in as many as 47 locations.

Fortunately, there are still dozens of places to choose a king cake.  Among them, some of the most famous are Gambino’s, Haydel’s, and Randazzo’s.  Of course, you can always make your own!  I chose a traditional cinnamon-sugar filling for mine, but cream cheese, cherry, and apple fillings are equally common.  Feel free to experiment with the filling, just be sure not to play around with the green, yellow, and purple frosting on top – you may find your throne teetering!

*Given the relatively young age of our nation, it’s easy to forget that some of our traditions – culinary and otherwise – can date back hundreds of years.  The other day I was reading David McCullough’s John Adams, when one passage struck me in particular.

While on a diplomatic mission to France with her husband, Abigail Adams wrote to her niece, Lucy Cranch, describing a scene from their family life in Auteuil.  The letter is dated January 5, 1785.

You must know that the religion of this country requires [an] abundance of feasting and fasting, and each person has his particular saint, as well as each calling and occupation.  Tomorrow is to be celebrated le jour des rois [The Day of Kings].  The day before this feast, it is customary to make a large paste pie [the French King Cake is still made of puff pastry, and stuffed with almond marzipan], into which one bean is put. Each person cuts his slice, and the one who is so lucky as to obtain the bean is dubbed king or queen.  Accordingly, today, when I went in to dinner, I found one upon our table.

Your cousin Nabby began by taking the first slice; but alas! poor girl, no bean and no queen.  In the next place, your cousin John seconded her by taking a larger cut, and as cautious as cousin T____ when he inspects merchandise, bisected his paste with mathematical circumspection; but to him it pertained not.  By this time I was ready for my part; but first I declared that I had no cravings for royalty.  I accordingly separated my piece with much firmness, nowise disappointed that it fell not to me.

Your uncle, who was all this time picking his chicken bone, saw us divert ourselves without saying anything.  But presently he seized the remaining half, and to crumbs went the poor paste, cut here and slash there; when behold the bean!  “And thus,” said he “are kingdoms obtained!”  But the servant who stood by and saw the havoc, declared solemnly that he could not retain the title, as the laws decreed it to chance, and not to force.

homemade king cake

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.

PREP TIME: 30 minutes
DOWN TIME: 2 hours
COOK TIME: 25 minutes
YIELD: 1 King Cake (Serves 10 to 14)

WHAT TO GRAB:
KING CAKE
4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packages) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105-115° F)
2 teaspoons plus 1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter softened
1/2 cup 1% milk at room temperature
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 1/4 to 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 candied almond or plastic baby (the almond is admittedly safer)
1 tablespoon melted butter

GLAZE
1 cup Confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 to 3 tablespoons water
Green, Yellow, and Purple Sugar (I had to go to Party City)

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  In a large bowl, stir together the yeast, 2 teaspoons sugar, and water.  Let it stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.  (If the mixture doesn’t foam, you’ll have to discard it and start over with new yeast).

2.  Add 1/2 cup sugar, butter, milk, egg yolks, salt, lemon peel, nutmeg and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (the dough should be just a little sticky).

3.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place the dough in a large, greased bowl, turning once so that the dough is also greased. Cover the bowl with a towel, and let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

4.  Punch the dough down, and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into about an 18-inch x 10-inch rectangle. Combine the cinnamon and remaining 1/3 cup of sugar.  Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture to within 1/4 inch of the edges.  Place the almond or plastic baby somewhere on the dough. Roll up the dough, jelly-roll style, starting with a long side.  Pinch the seams to seal.  You can use a tiny amount of water to help.  Place seam-side down on a greased baking sheet.  Very gently stretch the dough to form a ring.  Cover the dough again, and let it rise.  After about 30 minutes, gently massage the dough into a slightly longer and thinner ring.  Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes.

5.  Preheat the oven to 375° degree.  Brush the dough with the  melted butter  Bake the king cake for about 23 minutes, or until golden brown.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

6.  For the glaze, combine the Confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and enough water to achieve the desired consistency. Pour the icing over the cake. Sprinkle with the colored sugars in a green, yellow, and purple pattern.  Slice with a serrated knife, serve, and then crown your King or Queen for the day!