White Chocolate Coconut Mardi Gras King Cake

I just saw this posted on Facebook. Pretty funny.

Enough with the toys.

Mardi Gras is next Tuesday. If you are looking for a King Cake recipe to try, this would be a good one.

Unlike the typical yeasted King Cakes, this cake gets its body from white chocolate and coconut. I’ve mentioned before that I am not a huge fan of white chocolate, but its flavor is subtle and wonderful here.

New Orlean’s tradition involves baking a small plastic baby inside of the cake. Whoever gets that slice gets to host the next year’s Fat Tuesday party.

White Chocolate Coconut Mardi Gras King Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
8 oz white chocolate, melted
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flaked coconut
White Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)
Green, yellow and purple decorator sugars
Coconut Whipped Cream (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Beat butter with an electric mixer about 2 minutes until creamy. Gradually add sugar and beat for 7 minutes longer. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in white chocolate.

2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended. Stir in vanilla and coconut.

3. Beat egg whites until stiff. Gently fold into batter. Pour batter into a greased and floured 12 cup Bundt pan.

4. Bake at 325℉ for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

5. Drizzle cake with White Chocolate Ganache and sprinkle generously with colored sugars. Serve with Coconut Whipped Cream.

White Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

8 oz white chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup whipping cream

Directions:

1. Combine chocolate and whipping cream in a 2 cup glass measuring cup.

2. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir until chocolate melts. Cool until slightly thickened.

Coconut Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream
2 1/2 Tbs cream of coconut

Directions:

1. Beat whipping cream until slightly thickened. Add cream of coconut and beat until soft peaks form.