Ingredients:
Bread dough:
¾ cup milk
2 packages active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1/3 cup softened butter
¼ cup sugar
1 egg beaten
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
1 egg +1 tablespoon milk
Filling:
2/3 cup raisins soaked in hot water
2 cups chopped walnuts
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ cup melted butter
½ teaspoon salt
Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk
Directions:
In a saucepan, heat milk until bubbles form on sides. Cool to lukewarm. In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water, mixing to dissolve. In a large mixing bowl, add warm milk, butter, sugar, egg, lemon rind, vanilla, salt and yeast. Stir in 3 ½ cups of flour. Dust flour on counter or board. Knead until smooth. If too sticky, add up to ½ cup more flour. Placed in a bowl coated with butter. Cover and let rise until double, about one hour. Meanwhile, make filling. Drain raisins and place raisins in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. When dough has risen, punch dough down and roll out on a floured surface into a 21 X 18 inch rectangle. Spread filling evenly onto the dough, leaving about an inch border. Roll up dough in jellyroll fashion. Then make it into a round, tucking one end under the other to complete the circle. Cover and let rise until double, about one hour. Preheat oven to 350. Beat egg and milk together and brush on ring. Bake about 35 minutes or until golden brown and dough is cooked through. When done, hide the baby toy somewhere in the cake (going up through the bottom.) Glaze the cake. To prepare glaze, mix together powdered sugar and enough milk (a little at a time) to create a glaze. Add more milk if too thick, and more powdered sugar if too thin. Spoon the glaze over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Quickly sprinkle alternate rows of purple, green and yellow sanding sugar on the top of the cake. Lay colored beads (Purple, green, gold, red, yellow, blue, etc.) over the cake and top with king’s crown. Cut into wedges and serve warm or room temperature. (Note: I found my King’s Cake toy baby at ABC Cake Decorating in Phoenix. The beads and King’s crown are available at Party City.)
