Homemade Boudin King Cake Recipe
‘Tis the season for all things king cake!
This Quickie Boudin King Cake has been a hit, but if you’ve got a little extra time and want to make it yourself, we’ve got you covered! I’ve modified my homemade king cake recipe to make this savory one and it’s delish! It looks like a lot of steps, but it’s easier than you think!
Keep in mind that this recipe makes TWO king cakes, two feel free to halve the recipe to make one or freeze the dough after its first rise to save for later.
Homemade Boudin King Cake
Makes 2 King Cakes
For the Dough:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup butter
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup instant mashed potato flakes
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 2 packets instant yeast
- 7 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
For the Filling:
- 24-32 ounces boudin (some packages are 12 ounces, others are 1 pound), casings removed from links
- 16 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded
For the Topping:
- 2 small jars pepper jelly (I used 10-ounce Tabasco ones)
- 6 strips bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled
- 1 bunch green onions, green parts thinly sliced
HAVE ALL YOUR INGREDIENTS MEASURED AND READY TO GO!
The first step is scalding the milk. It’s not nearly as complicated as it sounds! Heat a saucepan over medium heat and add the milk. Cook until the edges begin to foam and froth, but do not allow it to boil. It only takes about 4 or 5 minutes, so watch it carefully. There will be a little layer like a “skin” across the top. (Appetizing, I know.)
Remove from heat. I like to pour it into a mixing bowl to prevent the rest of the ingredients from sticking to the hot saucepan and so it cools down faster. Add the sugar, butter, mashed potato flakes, and salt.
Stir thoroughly until the butter is completely melted and allow to cool to lukewarm. I use a candy thermometer to make sure it cools to about 115 degrees. Remember, if the mix is too warm, it may kill the yeast and your king cake won’t rise. Patience is key here!
In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs.
Add the yeast to the milk mixture, stir well. Then add in the egg mixture, stirring until it’s uniform.
Place the flour in the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Pour the milk mixture into the flour and mix on medium speed until the dough has come together, but is still soft. Sometimes I only use 6- 6½ cups of flour. (I start with 6 cups and have the last cup on the side, adding more as necessary.) This is not like bread dough, it is a much stickier dough. Be sure to scrape the bowl and mix again to incorporate all the flour.
Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place your dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean, dry towel. Set in a warm place and let your dough rise for one hour.
Once the dough has risen, you have two options: refrigerate the dough for a few hours to make it a bit easier to work with or work with it immediately.
Push down and divide dough into 2 parts. Each portion will be a king cake — remember, this recipe makes 2 king cakes!
Place dough onto lightly floured surface and roll out one portion at a time into a narrow rectangle of ½” thickness.
Lightly smash/crumble your boudin along the center of the dough and top with your pepper jack cheese. Roll up along the long side; pinch seam to seal. Stretch into a thick rope. Repeat with other portion of dough.
Transfer each filled log to its own parchment paper lined baking sheet and form into an oval. Pinch all ends together.
Cover the king cakes with saran wrap or a clean, dry towel and allow to rise in a warm place for an hour or until doubled in size.
After this second rise, bake at 350 degrees until lightly golden brown, 25-35 min.
While your king cake is cooling for about 5 minutes, heat your pepper jelly in the microwave in 30 second intervals until it is thin enough to pour.
Pour/drizzle the pepper jelly over the top of the hot king cakes.
Sprinkle them with the crumbled bacon and diced green onions.
Enjoy!
