Photography by Jim Bathie | Recipe Development by Amanda Stabile | Food Styling by Katie Mood Dickerson | Styling by Haley Bilunas
Inspired by the classic Hurricane cocktail, this King Cake is rich, boozy, and dressed for Mardi Gras with sparkling sugar and cream cheese frosting.
Hurricane King Cake
Makes 1 (10-cup) bundt cake
Ingredients
CAKE
- ¾ cup maraschino cherries
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1¼ cups whole buttermilk
- 1½ tablespoons dark rum
SYRUP
- ¼ cup spiced rum
- 3 tablespoons passion fruit juice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
- Garnish: green, yellow, and purple sparkling sugar, gold dragées
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°.
- For cake: Finely chop cherries, and pat dry with a paper towel. Let dry until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, and orange zest with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk and rum, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition. Fold in cherries until just combined.
- Spray a 10-cup Bundt pan with baking spray with flour. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Tap pan on kitchen towel-lined counter to settle batter and release any air bubbles.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- For syrup: Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; let cool until ready to use.
- Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes. Poke all over with a wooden skewer, and pour about half of syrup onto cake. Invert cake onto a parchment paper-lined wire rack, poke again, and pour remaining syrup onto cake. Let cool completely on wire rack.
- Spoon Cream Cheese Frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a large basket weave piping tip (Ateco #898). Pipe onto cooled cake. Garnish with sparkling sugar and dragées, if desired. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 3 cups
Ingredients
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Beat in vanilla and salt. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth. Beat at high speed until frosting is light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Use immediately.
The amount of cream cheese has been omitted from the Cream Cheese Frosting recipe