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Laissez le bons temps rouler!

Here's a simple but delicious king cake recipe. It makes two medium sized rounds or one large one. You can use your choice of fillings or go with the traditional.

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 (16-oz.) carton sour cream
1/3 c. sugar
1 t. salt
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 T. sugar
1/2 c. warm water (105 º to 115 º)
2 eggs
6 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

Cream Cheese Filling: Cream all ingredients together with an electric mixer: 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, 1 c. confectioners sugar, 2 T. flour, 1 t. vanilla, drop or two of milk. Add a fruit filling with the cream cheese. Blueberry, cherry and lemon are popular.

Cinnamon Filling: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon, 1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan; heat until butter melts, stirring occasionally. Let mixture cool to 105 º to 115 º.
Dissolve yeast and 1 T. sugar in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Add butter mixture, eggs, and 2 cups of flour; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes or by hand until smooth. Gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly-floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes).
If you prefer to do it the easy way, make it in a bread machine... I did, and it works great. I just dissolve the yeast in warm water first, and dissolve the sugar, butter and salt in the scalded milk, let cool, and put in the machine. Eliminates all of that kneading. Just take it out as soon as it is mixed to rise.
Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place free from drafts, for 1 hour or until dough is doubled in bulk.
Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon; set aside. (Or divide cream cheese filling in half.) Pinch dough down and it divide in half. Turn one portion of dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll to a 28" x 10" rectangle. Spread half of the butter and half of the cinnamon mixture (or cream cheese filling, then top with fruit filling, if desired) on the rolled-out dough. Roll dough, jelly roll fashion, starting at the long side. Gently place dough roll, seam side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bring ends of dough together and form an oval ring. If you have access to a tiny plastic baby, tuck it into the seam before you seal it. If not, use a large, dried bean. Moisten and pinch the edges together to seal.
Repeat this procedure with the second half of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 20 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375 º for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Drizzle with icing and sprinkle with colored sugars.

I have a friend who is in law school who upon learning that I had to make King Cakes (I work as a baker in one of those aforementioned local bakeries) who went to great detail explaining to me a case in which - yes, a woman choked to death on the plastic infant.

And yes, we put the baby on the outside too.

Last week someone posted asking where to buy a King Cake in NYC, and I linked to a very easy recipe that was posted here on SE about a year ago. Here it is again:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/01/baking-with-dorie-galette-des-rois-recipe.html