Mardi Gras King Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-1/3 cup sour cream

Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp water, if necessary
• Purple, green, and gold sugar crystals (for decorating)

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 4-qt baking dish and set aside.
2. To prepare the cake, sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda into a medium-size bowl; set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then stir in the vanilla. Alternate adding the flour mixture and sour cream and mix until combined. Turn off the mixer and pour the batter into the prepared pan. (If you're making an "authentic" King Cake with a plastic baby, drop it into the pan now.)
4. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 1-2 hours. Then, turn the cake out onto a platter so it can cool completely.
5. To prepare the glaze, combine all the ingredients, except the colored sugar crystals, in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze on top of the cooled cake and sprinkle with sugar crystals. Alternate the colors.
6. To serve, cut the cake into slices and pray you don't get the baby (unless, of course, you want to host the next Mardi Gras party!).