Cream Cheese King Cake

• Combine the sour cream, butter, salt, and 1/3 cup of sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat
• Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring until the butter melts and sour cream is no longer lumpy
• Remove from the heat and allow it to cool to a temperature of about 100F-110F
• Meanwhile, in a glass measuring cup, stir together the yeast, water, and 1 tbsp of sugar
• Let it stand for 5 minutes
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sour cream mixture, yeast mixture, 2 eggs, and 2 cups of bread flour
• Use the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed (I used speed 4) until it’s smooth, about one minute
• Gradually stir in 4 more cups of the bread flour until it forms into a dough
• Dust a work surface with 1/4 cup of the bread flour and turn the dough out
• Knead while adding up to another 1/2 cup of bread flour as needed until the dough is smooth and elastic (the dough should be tacky but still release easily from the work surface)
• Place the dough in a well-greased bowl and turn to cover with the grease
• Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (about 45-60 minutes, depending on the air temperature)

• Meanwhile, prepare the filling by using the stand mixer with the whisk attachment to beat the cream cheese, sugar, brown sugar, Tastic, and vanilla until it’s smooth
• Beat in the egg

• Once the dough has risen, gently punch it down and divide the dough in half, keeping one piece covered while working with the other
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll one piece of the dough out to a rectangle about 22×12 inches
• Spread half of the filling out over the dough leaving about 1/4″ around the edges
• Sprinkle the filling with half of the chopped pecans
• Starting with the long side, gently roll the cake and press the seam to seal
• Place the cake with the seam side down and carefully roll into a circle
• Press the edges together to seal. It may help to moisten the dough with a small amount of water to get it to stick together
• Repeat with the second piece of cake dough and remaining filling and pecans
• Cover the cakes and let them rise until they double in size (another 45-60 minutes)

• Preheat the oven to 350F
• Uncover the dough rings and bake them for about 25-30 minutes until they are a deep golden brown
• Let the cake rest on the pan for about 10-15 minutes, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling completely (about 1 1/2 hours)
• Meanwhile, bake the second cake if they didn’t both fit in the oven together

• Once the cakes have cooled, prepare the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, melted butter, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl until crumbly
• Stir in 3 tbsp of milk, adding more as needed until the glaze is thin and opaque
• Place a pan under the wire rack to catch the dripping and pour the glaze over the cake
• You can either cover the cake completely or pour it in small chunks, depending on what you want the final cake to look like
• Sprinkle the cake with alternating colored sugar
• If you are hiding a trinket in the cake, do that before serving by pressing it in from the bottom of the cake

* Tastic Spice is available HERE

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