Round 2 - Zulu King Cake

More King Cake please! My last king cake, the traditional version, was so good I had to do another. My work friend from California asked for something with chocolate & what better than a Zulu King Cake to meet the request.



It was pretty difficult to find a recipe but I decided to use the dough recipe from my "King Cake Face Off" post, and swap out cinnamon/pecan filling for a coconut/chocolate/cream cheese filling from a fellow blogger & the satiny chocolate glaze from allrecipes.com.

I didn't have a standing mixer this time, so for the dough I just used used a hand mixer for the first, medium-speed mixing of the hot liquids w/ the yeast, sugar, flour & salt and again for the 2nd, high-speed mixing after the addition of eggs & 1/2 cup flour (see previous post for more details). I then mixed the remainder dough with a wooden spoon & my hands. I mean people have been making dough for centuries without standing mixers & hook attachments so why start now?


I only refrigerated my dough for about 4 hours this time which made my life much easier when it came time to roll out the dough. I also decided to divide the dough in 3 equal portions first, knead each one individually & then roll each out into a 28x4inch rectangle.
A little trick I found out - roll the dough out as long as you can then fold it in half on the long side (hot dog, not hamburger)& keep rolling - this makes getting a long but skinny rectangle much easier.

Now for the filling:
6oz lite cream cheese, softened
3 Tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


I filled each rectangle with the coconutty deliciousness, rolled the dough into a rope & sealed by pinching the seam. A little water on my hand helped seal the seam.



I made the 3 ropes one at a time, but in retrospect you should roll them all out before filling because the ropes with start rising on you before you braid them. But, you do what you can with a tiny kitchen & little counter space.

I brushed the braided dough with melted butter to prevent any drying out (and a little flavor bonus). For 1 hour, I let the dose rise in a slightly warmed oven. It was a rainy, warm & very humid day so I had optimum dough rising.


Baked the cake at 375 for 20 minutes. I baked my last cake a little longer & it turned out a little dry the day after so I decided to shorten the bake time since I was bringing it to work the next morning.


And now the melty, titillating, sinful chocolate glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

I melted the glaze in a double-boiler. I suggest doing this about 5 minutes before the cake is ready to come out of the oven b/c you will need to pour it on while it is warm.


I drizzled the warm glaze over my cake & sprinkled some coconut on top ...at this point its pretty much impossible for any olfactory sensing animal to resist. Bingham convinced me to slice in while it was still warm... how could I say no!



Finger-lickin' good.

I sealed up the remainder in my new cake carrier (thanks Rachel & Paul!) to keep in the moisture. This worked very nicely, the cake was not dry at all the next morning.