King Cake Recipe {Traditional Mardi Gras Dessert}

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.

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

Cynthia

Egg enriched Brioche dough, slightly adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.

4.99 from 54 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

3 hours resting 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Total Time 4 hours hrs

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 16 people

Calories 304 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 304kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 5gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 474mgPotassium: 95mgFiber: 1gSugar: 24gVitamin A: 429IUCalcium: 55mgIron: 2mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!