King Cake Recipe {Traditional Mardi Gras Dessert}
As an Amazon Affilate, I earn commission on qualifying purchases.
King cake is a traditional New Orleans Mardi Gras dessert. A classic king cake is made from a sweet brioche dough, cream cheese or fruit fillings, icing, and colored sugar. There’s always a tiny plastic baby tucked in the baked cake. It’s a must have during carnival season or for a Mardi Gras party.
What is King Cake?
The king cake for Mardi Gras is basically a coffee cake ring with colored sugar and icing. This version has a cinnamon cream cheese filling. But you can also use your favorite fruit filling! King cake season runs from Epiphany (January 6th) to Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras. As a Southern California gal, I had no idea what king cake was. It is practically nonexistent in Southern California, at least the Southern, Mardi Gras version.
My very Southern girlfriend, Sandy, from Pascagoula, Mississippi, sent me one from a very famous bakery in New Orleans, during Mardi Gras. I fell in love with it and have been making this recipe for Mardi Gras king cake ever since! My niece and nephew own a restaurant in New Orleans so we make trips to visit them when we can!
Mardi Gras King Cake in Other Cultures
Many cultures and countries celebrate Mardi Gras or Carnavale with a version of the king cake. There is a Mexican version called Rosca de Reyes (Three Kings) which is served on Epiphany, and France celebrates with a Galette des Rois.
In the south, Mardi Gras, which is French for “Fat Tuesday,” is a season and not just a day like it is in the rest of the country. In preparation for Lent or Ash Wednesday, many households would rid their pantries of eggs, sugar, and butter, thus creating decadent pastries.
Along with the king cake, other cultures celebrate with similar sweets, like these Italian bow tie cookies that are popular in Italy.
In England, Shrove Tuesday is celebrated with thin pancakes. And of course, we know how popular Carnival is in Brazil!
What Do The Colors On The King Cake Mean?
The colored sugars on a king cake represent justice, (purple), faith (green), and power (gold). Traditionally a small plastic baby, symbolizing the baby Jesus, is tucked into the cooked cake for good luck. The recipient of the baby is responsible for bringing a cake to the next king cake party!
Can The King Cake Dough Be Made In Advance?
Yes! Once I discovered Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Hertzberg and Francois, I adapted their brioche dough for my King Cake. Make the king cake dough one day (or up to 4 days) before and the cake the next.
Can I Use Pre-Made Dough to Make King Cake?
No. Unfortunately, this is a brioche or sweetened dough. Although it’s not particularly sweet, there is some honey in the dough which you won’t find in store-bought bread dough.
Ingredients for king cake
Although this king cake recipe makes one large cake, you could use it to make two smaller mini king cakes. Laissez les bon temps rouler, (let the good times roll)!
Dough
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 package yeast
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
Cream Cheese Filling
- 12 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
Glaze
- 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons water or milk
- sanding sugar purple, gold and gree
How to Make a Fat Tuesday King Cake
Dough
- Scald the milk. Add to stand mixer. The butter should cool the milk enough to activate the yeast, but If you’re not sure, test the temperature using a thermometer. It should be between 105 and 110 degrees F. Add butter, honey, salt and yeast. Add eggs and mix until blended.
- Add the flour slowly, until dough comes together in a ball.
- Place dough in a large bowl and cover. Allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses, approximately 2 hours.
- Dough is ready to use at this point, but can also be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for about 15 for easier rolling.
Filling
The filling for this cream cheese king cake is simple, just cream cheese and cinnamon sugar.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. In a mixer combine cream cheese, sugars, vanilla and cinnamon scraping down sides of the bowl until combined.
Finishing the king cake
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a long thin rectangle, about 1/4″ thick.
- With long edge toward you, spread the filling on the dough, leaving on edge free.
- Roll the dough form into an oval or circle.
- Pinch the ends of the dough together and tuck it under
- Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Tucking ends under to form an oval. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm place until double, about 45 minutes.
- Bake at 375 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes, or until deep golden brown. The bottom of the bread will sound hollow when tapped
- Let it cool completely on a wire rack. Before drizzling the glaze over the top, make a small slit in the bottom of the cake and insert a plastic baby figurine.
- Sprinkle the top of the cake with alternating bands of gold, green and purple sanding sugar.
- Wrap leftover cake in plastic wrap for up to three days.
Hosting a Mardi Gras party
Decorations are key! Don’t forget the Mardi Gras beads and tableware in traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, gold and green! Here’s a reasonably priced Mardi Gras party pack.
Here are some dishes you might like.
Cocktails:
Believe it or not, Pimm’s Cup is a super popular NOLA cocktail. Another Bourbon Street staple is the Hurricane.
Appetizers:
Black Eyed Peas are delicious dip. Instead of making full sized Crab Cakes, make them bite sized! What about Jambalaya Stuffed Pepper or Spicy Confetti Shrimp in small cups with rice?
Main Dishes:
Here are some tasty main dishes for your Mardi Gras party; Jambalaya, Creole Seafood Jambalaya, Gumbo with Andouille Sausage, or Authentic Chicken Gumbo.
Side Dishes:
Red Beans and Rice or Dirty Rice would be great accompaniments to any New Orleans menu.
Cooks with Soul
Dessert:
Add traditional Cafe du Monde Beignets
or Bananas Foster to the dessert menu for a perfect taste of New Orleans!
Some of the items in this post are available in my Amazon Affiliate Store at no additional cost to you.
King Cake
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 package yeast
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
Cream Cheese Filling
- 12 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
Glaze
- 1 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons water or milk
- sanding sugar purple, gold and green
Instructions
Dough
- Scald the milk. Add to standing mixer. The butter should cool the milk enough to activate the yeast, but If you’re not sure, test the temperature using a thermometer. It should be between 105 and 110 degrees F. Add butter, honey, salt and yeast. Add eggs and mix until blended.
- Add the flour slowly, until dough comes together in a ball.
- Place dough in a large bowl and cover. Allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses, approximately 2 hours.
- Dough is ready to use at this point, but can also be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for about 15 for easier rolling.
Filling
- Meanwhile, make the filling. In a mixer combine cream cheese, sugars, vanilla and cinnamon until combined.
Finishing the King Cake
- On a lightly floured board, roll dough into a long, thin rectangle approximately 12″ x 18″.
- Spread filling up to 1" from sides of dough. Roll dough lengthwise away from you.
- Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Tucking ends under to form an oval. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm spot until double, about 45 minutes.
- Bake at 375 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes, or until deep golden brown. The bottom of the bread will sound hollow when tapped.
Glaze
- For glaze, combine confectioner’s sugar, vanilla and water until thick drizzle consistency.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Tuck a small plastic baby into the underside of the cake. Drizzle or spread glaze over the top and sprinkle with alternating bands of colored sugar.
Video
Notes
- Use a thermometer for best results.
- Dough should be shiny and smooth. If dough is too sticky add additional flour 1 Tablespoon at a time.
Now I want to invite people over and have a Mardi Gras party!!! This looks really fun. I had no idea it’s made from a yeasted dough. Thanks.
Such a fun party too!
I’ve always wanted to make a cake for Mardi Gras but I’ve been waiting for a recipe like this. I can’t wait to try it.
Such a fun dessert to make!
I can’t believe it’s already time to start thinking about KING Cakes and Mardi Gras! Looks like you’ve really perfected this over 25 years!
yes! While most of the country just celebrates one day, Mardi Gras, (fat tuesday), the south celebrates for a whole season from Epiphany to mardi gras!
I’ve always wanted to make one of these cakes but never had a good recipe! Can’t wait!
Let me know how it turns out!
I’ve always wanted To make a King’s Cake. Thank you For the recipe.
You’re welcome!
I’ve always wanted to know how to make king cake, and now that I’m living abroad (and have no access to it) I really needed a recipe! Thank you!
It’s really just a fancy breakfast bread!
This looks so delicious and tasty! I can’t wait to give this a try! So excited!
Let me know how it turns out!
This is a beautiful sweet treat! I really enjoyed reading about the meaning of the colours, as I was not aware of this previously. Thank you for this delicious recipe – we love how festive it is!
It’s a pretty cool tradition that seems to be catching on more and more around the rest of the US.
This gives me such fond memories of my time in New Orleans! I love the festive colors of this gorgeous cake!
I’ve heard of King Cake but wasn’t quite sure what it was. Aren’t they just gorgeous!
This gives me such affectionate recollections of my time in New Orleans! I love the happy shades of this exquisite cake! with free guilds and quests
NOLA certainly is a town like no other! Amazing food!
I have never made a King cake before, but thought I would try this out. I have to say it was a fun experience. The cake is so delicious, tender and flavorful! If you think it’s a “cake” texture…it’s not. It’s more like a cinnamon roll type dough…and man, was it great! My friends and family really enjoyed it. Highly recommended.
So happy to hear Ginger! It’s fun to try all sorts of fillings too! I love the wild Mardi Gras sprinkles you decorated it with!
As a true-blue New Orleanian whose daughter’s birthday always falls during Carnival season, her birthday cake is ALWAYS a king cake. Thousands upon thousands are sold during the season from Epiphany through Mardi Gras day. Everyone in New Orleans eats them shamelessly at breakfast time, coffee breaks (ubiquitous in offices and teacher’s lounges), dessert, and all times in-between. As a purist, I will NEVER eat one out of season – that would be a sacrilege, but I know a lot of people who eat them year round. However, the best bakers in the city would never bake nor sell them out of season. Gotta go eat a slice right now – Mardi Gras is in just three days, so I have to get my fill! COVID may have stopped our parades and street celebrations, but not our King Cakes – laissez les bon temps rouler, ya’ll!
Love it Betsy! One of my best friends is NOLA raised, (geaux tigers!) and every year for the past dozen or so years I’ve made her a King Cake for their Super Bowl party. (not this year though. 🙁 ) My niece and nephew own a couple of restaurants in NOLA so we visit, but not as often as we would like. It’s a great city!
We went to a vintage trailer rally that had a cajun theme. So I made everything cajun inspired including this king cake. This was my first attempt. I have a second proofing for Easter. I did add chopped pecans to the filling. Absolutely delicious I wish I could post my picture it turned out absolutely spectacular!
Hi! Thank you so much for the nice comments! Pecans? Why didn’t I think of that? So adding them to my next one! If you’re on FB, I’d love for you to post a pic! Cynthia
WOOOOW this recipe looking delicious amazing ,,,
Am rate this recipe after tired it
Thank you so much to make my last diner full of LOL
ok thanks!
Stupid question, do you let the milk, yeast honey set so yeast bubbles then add butter salt eggs? I didn’t just poured milk in mixed bowl of stand mixer added 1/4 stick butter waited till it melted then add honey yeast salt then add flour. Dough was pretty sticky so with dough hook add a bit more flour to knead a minute more, placed on bowl for two hours however it has not double nor collapse. I think I failed
Added eggs after salt before flour
yes
I add the butter to the stand mixer after the scalded milk.I do it right away. If you wait too long, the yeast might not bloom because the temperature is too cool. Unless you boiled the milk like crazy, the addition of the butter and honey should cool the mixture just to the correct temperature for the yeast to bloom. But as stated, if you’re not sure, a thermometer will give the best results. As with most dough, the stickiness is usually solved by adding a few tablespoons more. I always add the eggs last. Hope that helps!
Hoping to make this for a church social hour for Epiphany. What type of yeast – rapid rise ok?
Rapid rise will work just fine! Reduce the amount slightly. Here’s the amount:
“To substitute instant (or rapid rise, perfect rise, quick rise) yeast for active dry: Use about 25% less. For example if the recipe calls for 1 packet or 21⁄4 teaspoons of active dry yeast, use 1 3/4 teaspoons of instant yeast.”
Thank you! I must not have sealed the dough properly – one side opened up during baking and filling oozed out -but my husband and I tasted that part and it is awesome! I might be able to salvage what is left and slice it up for the church social in the morning. I definitely want to make this again – any advice for the dough opening up and oozing?
Hi Kate, I’ve made it so many times that it happens to me every once in a while. I seal it as well as I can, then place dough seam side down. Sometimes it bursts if the filling is too thick in one area. If it does burst, the glaze can usually cover most of it! Let me know if you have any questions. Happy new year! Cynthia
I’ve made one tonight in UK as we watch Super Bowl and it’s in New Orleans
Excellent! I know it’s impossible to find king cake in Londoon!
Made this today.. the dough is absolutely luscious. I added 6 tb soft butter to the dough just before adding the last of the flour. Made it like a brioche dough…tender and delish.I am 70 and have no liking of colored sugar..had it as a kid and that was enough. I used a 10X glaze and it was divine. many thanks for the recipe.I used two pkg of yeast since it looked like a sugar heavy dense dough…it rose perfectly.
Thank you so much Tina1 That’s so nice to hear. I’d love it if you could give the recipe 5 stars! Have a wonderful day. Cynthia
Forgot to ad dthe 5 stars to my review. Oops.
Thanks Tina!
Recipe was easy to follow and I was extremely pleased with the outcome! I cut my rolled dough and filling down the middle lengthwise and twisted the strands together, which was beautiful and showed the lovely layers. I also made extra glaze, about 2-3 times this recipe.
Aww! Love it! So pleased you like the outcome! Share photos in my group!