Michelle Rock of Momma Rocks food truck gives us the lowdown on Fat Tuesday.
If anyone in Wilmington knows a thing or two about traditional Mardi Gras king cake, it is Momma Rocks food truck owner and chef Michelle Rock.
After the New Orleans native moved to Wilmington, she searched high and low for local king cakes, but not many passed her authenticity test. She decided she would either have to make the sweet treat herself or order some from her favorite Nola bakeries.
These days if Rock isn't working on orders for her Momma Rocks dessert truck, she is lending a hand to her son Nick Rock who runs T'Geaux Boys food truck -- dishing out po' boys with French bread flown in from Louisiana.
Rock, who won first place for her banana bread pudding this fall at the annual Wish Upon A Chef competition, shared some lesser-known facts behind Carnival season celebrations, king cakes and traditions in New Orleans.
1. Where to find a king cake
Rock said while she is making a limited number of pecan-praline and cinnamon king cakes now, she is headed to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. But she recommends several other bakers in town and gives them a stamp of approval for authenticity.
Nothing Bundt Cakes (1437 Military Cutoff Road) is creating a Mardi gras-themed bundt cake. While not a traditional king cake, the bakery is sticking to traditional flavors with cinnamon and a pecan-praline.
Jennifer Wright with Port City Cheesecakes (www.portcitycheesecakes.com) will have some available for order.
Baker Ashley Wixon of Colonel's Confections will be doing a Danish-style king cake. Check them out at www.colonelsconfections.com.
2. Celebrate Mardi Gras events
The Sour Barn, 7211 Market St., will host Fat Tuesday Trivia at 7 p.m. Feb. 13.
The Cotton Exchange, at the corner of Front and Grace streets in downtown Wilmington, will host a family Mardi Gras complete with with bouncy houses, king cakes, face painting, princess characters and more, from noon to 4 p.m. Feb. 10.
Waterline Brewing Co., 721 Surry St., will host its Fat Tuesday party from 7 to 10 p.m. Feb. 13. The event starts at Waterline before the crowd does a Second Line dance to the Duck & Dive bar, 114 Dock St.
The Cape Fear Food & Wine Club will host a Mardi Gras cooking demonstration with Rock and her son Nick at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 27. Purchase tickets in advance online or at The Seasoned Gourmet, 5500 Market St.
3. Mardi Gras and Carnival are based on Easter and Epiphany
Mardi Gras, which means Fat Tuesday in French, is the Tuesday before the Christian observation of Ash Wednesday. But Carnival season, celebrated in New Orleans and other cities, kicks off as Epiphany ends on Jan. 6. The 12 days of Epiphany represent the wise men's journey to Jesus.
In the weeks leading up to Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season, Carnival is celebrated with parades, decorations, balls and king cakes.
Rock said growing up students had king cake every Friday at school during Carnival. The student who had the plastic baby inside the king cake had to bring the next cake in.
4. The king cake is full of symbolism
The colors of the king cake and the plastic baby all mean something. Rock said the purple color stands for justice; green symbolizes faith and gold stands for power. Those colors also translate to the three gifts the wise men brought to Jesus. The purple meaning myrrh; green for frankincense; and gold for gold.
Rock braids three strands of dough for her cakes before baking them and topping with icing. The three braids stand for the Holy Trinity.
The plastic baby? It is symbolic of the wise men finding Jesus, or rebirth.
A king cake is shaped into a hollow circle symbolizing eternity, like a wedding ring.
5. How king cakes are made
King cakes began nearly 300 years ago with a plain dough some people equate to a French bread texture. But over the years and especially in the United States, king cakes developed a more moist and sweet profile. Today many king cakes, including Rock's, are a sweet brioche dough. The yeast-based dough is proofed several times before baking. It can be split into three strands and braided, and then formed into a hollow circle. It is then glazed with an icing after baking and sprinkled with colored sugar.
The cakes are made in all sorts of flavors but the most well-known flavors from New Orleans are the cinnamon and pecan-praline, Rock said.
Traditional king cake recipe
Ingredients
Cake batter
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 package yeast
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, cut into 12 pieces
Filling
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Purple-, green- and gold-colored sugar or sprinkles
Optional: plastic baby
Instructions
Mix 2 1/2 cups of the flour and the yeast in mixing bowl of stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, on low for about 30 seconds.
Heat milk, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
With mixer on low, pour in liquids and mix until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time. Continue mixing until a shaggy dough forms. Clean off paddle and switch to dough hook. Mix in the remaining 1 cup flour a little at a time, adding more or less flour as needed to make a soft dough. Add the softened butter, a piece at a time, kneading until each piece of butter is absorbed.
Knead for eight minutes on low. The dough should completely clear the sides of the bowl. If too sticky, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing in thoroughly before determining if more flour is needed. If the dough seems too dry, spritz with water from a spray bottle a couple of times, mixing in thoroughly before determining if more water is needed. Every 2 minutes, stop the machine, scrape the dough off the hook, and then continue kneading.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times by hand to be sure it’s smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball. Place dough into a greased bowl. Turn once so greased surface is on top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
While the dough is chilling, make cinnamon filling. In small bowl, combine the brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Combine butter with cinnamon mixture and mix well.
Roll the chilled dough into a 10-by-20-inch rectangle. Spread the filling on half of the long side of the dough. Fold the dough in half covering the filling. Pat dough down firmly so the dough will stick together. Cut dough into three long strips. Press the tops of the strips together and braid the strips. Press the ends together at the bottom. Gently stretch the braid so that it measures 20 inches again. Shape it into a circle/oval and press the edges together.
Transfer the ring to a parchment lined or greased baking sheet. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cake until it is golden brown, about 20-35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes on baking sheet and then place it on a cooling rack to cool completely before icing. To hide the baby in the cake, if desired, make a small slit in the bottom of the cake and put the miniature plastic baby in after the cake has cooled.
For the icing, in a small bowl, mix powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth (add additional milk if mixture is too thick or powdered sugar if too thin).
Spoon icing over top of the cake. Immediately sprinkle on colored sugar, alternating between the three colors.
Reporter Ashley Morris can be reached at 910-343-2096 or Ashley.Morris@starnewsonline.com