Gluten Free King Cake Recipe #MardiGras

Some of the recipes this month for the Blogger Recipe Challenge are sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. They sent us all a variety package of their nut flours to try out in different recipes including their Natural Almond Meal, Finely Ground Almond Meal/Flour, Coconut Flour and Hazelnut Meal/Flour. I have a little experience with Almond and Coconut Flour but have yet to try with the Hazelnut Flour.

Since I went gluten free eight years ago, I’ve been a huge fan of Bob’s Red Mill’s flours. Not all of their products are gluten free, but their Rice Flour, Tapioca starch and potato flour are regulars in my rotation. They are products I can trust, and buy often. More often than not, if one of my recipes say to use Rice Flour, I’m using Bob’s Red Mill. So trying out some of their other flours, it’s easy for me to do and trust their brand.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Fast Rising Yeast
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Potato Starch
• 1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour
• 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Finely Ground Almond flour
• 1/4 cup Tapioca Starch
• Additional White Rice Flour
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 1/2 tspVanilla

Filling: 

• 8 oz Cream Cheese
• 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
• 2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 2 to 3 Tbsp Water

Toppings:

• Caster Sugar in Purple, Yellow and Green

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl heat your milk and butter in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until your butter is melted and the mixture is steaming. Add in your yeast and sugar and mix together. Let sit for 10 minutes to proof.
3. In a large bowl combine your  baking soda, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt potato starch, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, and almond flour
4. When your yeast mix is proofed put it in your stand mixer. Add in your egg, oil and vanilla. Mix together for about 2 minutes. Slowly add in your flour mixture and mix together until your dough pulls together.
5. Place a towel over the top of your mixing bowl and allow your dough to rise for 30 minutes.
6. Prepare your surface by laying out a sheet of plastic wrap. Coat it evenly with a thin layer of White Rice flour. Scrape your dough onto the plastic wrap and sprinkle more white rice flour on top. Top with another piece of plastic wrap and carefully roll out into a large rectangle about 18″ x 12″. Carefully pull back the top piece of plastic and let the dough sit for a couple minutes.
7. In a small bowl microwave your cream cheese for 45 seconds until soft. Add in your powdered sugar and mix together until smooth.
8. Carefully spread your cream cheese filling to 1/2″ of the edge all the way around.
9. Using the bottom piece of plastic wrap, start rolling up the cake into a roll (similar to how you would make cinnamon rolls). Carefully transfer your roll to a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat on top. Place the roll seam side down and carefully turn the roll so it makes a full circle.
10. Bake for 25-30 until the outside of your pastry is brown and starts to crack a little.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely for at least an hour before topping.
12. Once your cake is completely cool, mix together your powdered sugar, lemon juice and water in a medium sized bowl. You can easily do this by hand, mix until smooth. Then spoon over the top of your cake.
13. While your glaze is still setting decorate your cake with bands of yellow, purple and green caster sugar.

But where’s the baby? 
Yes! King cakes usually have a plastic baby baked inside. However, being in the north I wasn’t sure where to find one, and I’m not too keen on the idea of baking plastic in my food. That combined with the fact that this make s a small King Cake (enough for 3-4 people), I didn’t want to risk hiding the baby in there. I know I’m going to be the next one making it, so point in putting it in there for me to find ;).

What do you put in your King Cake? Let me know! Have a great Mardi Gras!

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