A delicious Mardi Gras treat, this King Cake Recipe will be a colorful addition to your party table. Fun, flavorful and a great breakfast or dessert for the whole family!
If you have never made a King Cake Recipe, you are absolutely missing out. It is like cinnamon roll meets cake with a tasty and colorful glaze.
This recipe is perfect for breakfast or dessert, we have it for both – which usually doesn’t even last a whole day.
The flavors work so well together and they are not overpowering in any way. With spices in the dough, it really balances everything out.
With Mardi Gras coming up, this would be a fun cake to make for family, friends or a party.
This is fun recipe to make, working with yeast can be scary for some, but don’t let it be! Trust yourself and it will absolutely go smoothly.
If you have been looking for that perfect Mardi Gras treat, then you need to make my King Cake Recipe.
Some of my other favorite cake recipes that we have on our site include: Donut Cake, Flourless Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Chip Cake.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Fun and flavorful, this is a hit for everyone.
- This can be made any time of the year by switching out the sugar colors on top or leaving them off completely.
- This doubles as breakfast and dessert, who doesn’t love dual purpose!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):
Milk
Unsalted butter
Active dry yeast
Egg
All-purpose flour
Granulated sugar
Fine sea salt
Ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg
Light brown sugar
Powdered sugar
Vanilla extract
Plastic baby, optional
Dark green sanding sugar
Dark purple sanding sugar
Gold sanding sugar
HOW TO MAKE A KING CAKE RECIPE, STEP BY STEP:
DOUGH/FILLING:
- Warm the milk in the microwave in 15-second intervals until it reaches 105-110 degrees F.
- Place the sliced butter into the body of a stand mixer and pour ½ cup of the milk on top, set aside.
- Place the remaining ⅓ cup milk into a small bowl and stir in the yeast, let it sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy and the yeast activates.
- Add the yeast mixture to the stand mixer along with the egg. Attach with hook attachment and mix to combine.
- Add the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the bowl, mix to combine until it starts to form a dough.
- On low, knead the dough for 10 minutes. When done kneading the dough will be smooth but slightly tacky still.
- Spray a large bowl with non-stick cooking spray and place the kneaded dough into the bowl, spray the top with more non-stick cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to double in size, which will take about 1 – 1.5 hours.
- When the dough is almost ready, make the filling. In a medium bowl stir together the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Pour in the melted butter and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Punch down the dough to release the air bubbles.
ASSEMBLY/BAKING:
- On a floured surface add your dough and roll out the dough into a rough 24×10-inch rectangle.
- Sprinkle the filling all over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border along the edges. Place the plastic baby, if using, in a random place on top of the filling.
- With the long side of the dough facing you, tightly roll the dough to form a log and pinch the seams together (like you would making cinnamon rolls).
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the dough onto the baking sheet, shape into a circle and pinch the ends together well to seal.
- Cover with plastic wrap and rise again until about doubled, roughly about another 1 – 1.5 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Take the plastic wrap off the cake and using a kitchen scissors or knife, slice about ⅓ of the way through the dough to expose the layers, do this in 8 spots, equally spaced. Do not cut the dough all the way through.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown, tent with foil after 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cake is cool, make the icing by whisking together the powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons of milk, and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth. The glaze should be thick but pourable, if it is too thick, add up to another Tablespoon of milk.
- Place the wire rack over a baking sheet or parchment paper to catch any drips, and pour the glaze evenly over the cake. Immediately add the sanding sugar colors in any pattern you wish.
- Let sit for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
WHAT IS THE TEXTURE OF THIS KING CAKE?
The dough itself when made is stickier than normal, so it makes it a cross between a bread dough and a cake softness.
This will most remind you of cinnamon rolls and the texture of them when you slice them, but with a more solid top.
WHY DO I KNEAD THIS FOR A LONG TIME?
This is an intentional step, kneading for a longer period of time and at a lower speed will result in a more tender dough.
This in turn will result in a softer bread/cake texture which really makes this King Cake Recipe what it is.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE BABY?
The baby actually represents Jesus in the history of this cake. Finding the baby in the cake presents that person to be “king” or “queen” for the day.
The baby also is supposed to bring luck and prosperity. But not all people use the baby and it is absolutely optional to place it in the cake or not.
WHY DO I NEED TO CUT THE DOUGH?
Since our version of this cake is rolled and then shaped into a circle and not braided like some others there is a need to cut the dough.
Cutting the dough makes sure that the cake doesn’t overpuff when baking and resulting in gaps between the layers.
So make sure that you are making the cuts that we show in our step by step process.
HOW TO STORE:
This cake can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container where it will keep for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator for 1 week.
This can also be frozen, I recommend freezing without the glaze and sanding sugar.
Place the baked cake in a freezer safe container and it will keep for up to 3 months.
To defrost, remove from the freezer onto the countertop until thawed and then make your glaze and decorate.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- You can add additions into the filling such as chopped walnuts, pecans, raisins or golden raisins.
- Make this all year round with other colors of sanding sugar.
- This is great for both breakfast and dessert.
- Make sure that you are making the cuts in the dough, see above on why that is important.
- You do NOT have to use the baby, if you do but do not want to bake it inside – once baked, cut a slit in the bottom of the cake and push the baby inside.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- This is best at room temperature or slightly warm, so if you are storing it make sure that it comes to room temperature before serving.
- Make sure you are mixing and kneading at a slow speed for a longer time, it is essential to the texture of this cake.
- This recipe can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Want that perfect festive treat to celebrate Mardi Gras or just to make because its amazing? Then this King Cake Recipe needs to be on your menu!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this KIND CAKE RECIPE or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
King Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the dough:
- ½ cup + ⅓ cup milk divided
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter thinly sliced
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 large egg
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the filling:
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
For the glaze:
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For decoration:
- Plastic baby optional
- Dark green sanding sugar
- Dark purple sanding sugar
- Gold sanding sugar
Instructions
- Warm the milk in the microwave in 15-second intervals until it reaches 105-110 degrees F.
- Place the sliced butter into the body of a stand mixer and pour ½ cup of the milk on top, set aside.
- Place the remaining ⅓ cup milk into a small bowl and stir in the yeast, let it sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy and the yeast activates.
- Add the yeast mixture to the stand mixer along with the egg. Attach with hook attachment and mix to combine.
- Add the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the bowl, mix to combine until it starts to form a dough.
- On low, knead the dough for 10 minutes. When done kneading the dough will be smooth but slightly tacky still.
- Spray a large bowl with non-stick cooking spray and place the kneaded dough into the bowl, spray the top with more non-stick cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to double in size, which will take about 1 – 1.5 hours.
- When the dough is almost ready, make the filling. In a medium bowl stir together the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Pour in the melted butter and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Punch down the dough to release the air bubbles.
- On a floured surface add your dough and roll out the dough into a rough 24×10-inch rectangle.
- Sprinkle the filling all over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border along the edges. Place the plastic baby, if using, in a random place on top of the filling.
- With the long side of the dough facing you, tightly roll the dough to form a log and pinch the seams together (like you would making cinnamon rolls).
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the dough onto the baking sheet, shape into a circle and pinch the ends together well to seal.
- Cover with plastic wrap and rise again until about doubled, roughly about another 1 – 1.5 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Take the plastic wrap off the cake and using a kitchen scissors or knife, slice about ⅓ of the way through the dough to expose the layers, do this in 8 spots, equally spaced. Do not cut the dough all the way through.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown, tent with foil after 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cake is cool, make the icing by whisking together the powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons of milk, and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth. The glaze should be thick but pourable, if it is too thick, add up to another Tablespoon of milk.
- Place the wire rack over a baking sheet or parchment paper to catch any drips, and pour the glaze evenly over the cake. Immediately add the sanding sugar colors in any pattern you wish.
- Let sit for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- You can add additions into the filling such as chopped walnuts, pecans, raisins or golden raisins.
- Make this all year round with other colors of sanding sugar.
- This is great for both breakfast and dessert.
- Make sure that you are making the cuts in the dough, see above on why that is important.
- You do NOT have to use the baby, if you do but do not want to bake it inside – once baked, cut a slit in the bottom of the cake and push the baby inside.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- This is best at room temperature or slightly warm, so if you are storing it make sure that it comes to room temperature before serving.
- Make sure you are mixing and kneading at a slow speed for a longer time, it is essential to the texture of this cake.
- This recipe can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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