Description
Celebrate Mardi Gras with this traditional King Cake recipe featuring a soft, sweet dough filled with either a cinnamon sugar mix or creamy cheese filling. Braided and baked to golden perfection, then topped with a lemon-vanilla glaze and colorful purple, green, and gold sugar—the perfect festive centerpiece for your Mardi Gras party.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (divided)
- 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 to 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (705g to 776g)
Cinnamon Filling (Full Batch)
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (68g)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons salted butter (melted)
Cream Cheese Filling (Full Batch)
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter (softened)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter (melted)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare warm milk and butter: Heat milk and butter together in a microwave-safe bowl for 60-90 seconds until warm and butter melted. Stir in salt and let cool to about 120° to 130°F to ensure it’s warm but not too hot for yeast activation.
- Activate yeast: In a separate bowl, combine warm water with about 1 tablespoon of sugar and the active dry yeast. Stir lightly and let sit for 5-10 minutes until it becomes foamy, signaling active yeast.
- Mix dough: Once yeast is foamy, add the warm milk mixture along with the remaining sugar, beaten eggs, vanilla extract, and 1 cup of flour. Mix well to combine.
- Knead the dough: Gradually add the remaining flour while kneading with a dough hook attachment on medium speed for 5 minutes, or knead by hand for 8-10 minutes. Add only the extra 1/2 cup flour if the dough is extremely sticky. Aim for a soft dough that just starts to pull away from bowl sides.
- First rise: Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead a few times by hand to form a smooth ball. Lightly oil a clean bowl, place dough back inside, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
- Prepare fillings: For cinnamon filling, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and melted butter in a bowl until evenly mixed. For cream cheese filling, beat together softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, softened butter, and vanilla extract until smooth. Use half these amounts for one cake.
- Shape the King Cakes: Punch down the risen dough and divide in half (enough for two cakes). Roll out one half into a roughly 10×16-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Use a pizza cutter to cut lengthwise into two long strips.
- Fill and roll: Spread cream cheese filling or crumble cinnamon filling evenly over the dough strips. Roll each strip into a long cylinder, similar to cinnamon rolls.
- Braid and form cakes: Twist the two cylinders together into a rope braid, then shape into an oval on a parchment-lined baking sheet, pinching the ends together to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 30-45 minutes until puffy.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) while the cakes rise. Bake the cakes for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and fully baked (internal temperature of 190°-195°F). Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.
- Make frosting: In a medium bowl, beat powdered sugar, milk, melted butter, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until smooth and pourable but thick enough to coat the cake.
- Decorate: Insert a plastic baby figurine into each cooled cake, hiding it inside. Drizzle the frosting evenly over the cakes and spread with a spatula. Immediately sprinkle with purple, green, and gold colored sugar to decorate before frosting sets.
- Serve: Slice and enjoy! Tradition says whoever finds the baby gets to be king or queen for the day.
Notes
- If dough is too sticky, gradually add up to 1 full cup additional flour to achieve manageable, soft dough without drying it out.
- King Cake is best fresh but can be stored at room temperature covered for 2-3 days or refrigerated up to 1 week in an airtight container.
- Freeze fully baked King Cakes wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and an airtight container for 2-3 months; thaw on countertop for 2-3 hours before serving.
- Use a pizza cutter for clean, easy dough cutting and parchment paper to prevent sticking on baking sheets.
- Instant yeast can be used: mix it with initial flour and sugar, add liquids and other ingredients, mix, then knead as usual. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour for the first rise instead of 1-2 hours at room temperature.
- Dough can be prepared ahead and refrigerated overnight; bring to room temperature before shaping and baking.
- Try different fillings such as strawberry, cherry, or blueberry pie filling with cream cheese mixture, apple pie filling, or other preferred flavors.
- Colored sugar can be homemade by mixing granulated sugar with a few drops of food coloring in a sealed jar and shaking to distribute color evenly.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 1/20 of cake)
- Calories: 330
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 210mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Fiber: 1.5g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 45mg
