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Insights > Celebrate Mardi Gras with Entergy's King Cake
Celebrate Mardi Gras with Entergy's King Cake
02/24/2020
Cooking is a New Orleans cultural cornerstone, and its prominence explains why a company like Entergy would invest such time and effort in supporting this local art. In the late ‘40s, and for the next two decades, the New Orleans Public Service Inc. - the pre-cursor to Entergy New Orleans, made cooking demonstrations and recipes part of its relationship with customers citywide.
As modern appliances dramatically changed the way food was prepared, the company began a series of weekly cooking demonstrations at its 317 Baronne St. headquarters. Vivian Berry supervised a group of home economists who not only showed wives and mothers how to use the array of blenders, mixers, and ranges being introduced to the market, but gathered and tested recipes to use in these modern kitchens. This King Cake is just one of the many recipes that came out of these efforts.
Ingredients:
- 1 package yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 6 tablespoons milk, scalded and cooled
- 4 cups sifted flour
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
Directions:
In a bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk and enough flour, about 1/2 cup, to make a soft dough. In another bowl, combine sugar, salt and eggs with the electric mixer. Remove from mixer and add soft ball of yeast dough. Mix thoroughly. Gradually add 2 1/2 cups flour to make a medium dough that is neither too soft nor too stiff. Please in a greased bowl and brush top of dough with butter. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside to rise until doubled in bulk, about 3 hours. Use remaining 1 cup flour to knead dough into an oval shape. The Center should be about 7 x 12 inches. Connect ends of dough by dampening with water. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. (A bean or one-inch plastic baby doll may be placed in cake if desired).
Bake in 325°F oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Decorate by brushing top of cake with corn syrup and alternating 3-inch bands of purple, green and gold colored granulated sugar. (To color sugar, add a few drops of food color to sugar, and shake in tightly covered jar until desired color is achieved.)
Enjoy! For more recipes from Entergy, check out From Woodstoves to Microwaves: Cooking with Entergy.
Note: The recipes in this book were published by Entergy over many years in various publications and printed materials, including books, transit materials and bill stuffers. They were developed and tested when home appliances were not as efficient and powerful as they are today. Cooking times and temperature suggestions may have to be altered to provide optimum results. While Entergy provided some assistance to customers with the preparation of these recipes in the past, we no longer have home economists on staff to answer questions or solve the problems you may have in preparing these recipes. Thank you for requesting "From Woodstoves to Microwaves... Cooking with Entergy."
