Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday is just around the corner and it’s time to get that King Cake baking. King Cakes are a tradition in my family and I’ve eaten them since I was a kid. In fact, I fondly remember getting the baby in my piece of King Cake in kindergarten class and being crowned queen for the day. I proudly wore that cardboard crown (dotted with shiny stars of course) and feeling special all day long.
Yes, King Cakes are special and full of festive beauty too. They are simple to make and can be stuffed with all sorts of different sweet combinations such as cinnamon and sugar, sweet cream cheese or fruity jam. I happened to have cream cheese on hand, so this recipe is made with the combination of cinnamon, sugar and cream cheese. It’s absolutely delicious.
To make, start with the dough. In a standing mixer or large bowl, add 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 ¼ teaspoons of dry active yeast and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, add 1 cup of warm whole milk, a ¼ cup of melted butter and a ¼ cup of honey. Stir to combine, then pour the milk mixture into the flour and mix the ingredients with a dough hook or knead with your hands until a smooth ball of dough forms. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rest while you make the filling.
To make the cream cheese filling, whisk together 8 ounces of room temperature cream cheese, 1 room temperature egg yolk, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, ½ cup of granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg and ¼ cup of flour. Whisk until smooth, then set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix together 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1½ tablespoons of ground cinnamon. Set aside.
Clean off your countertop and dust it with flour. Roll out the dough into a 30-inch long by 15-inch-wide rectangle. Cut the dough into 3 long strips that are 5 inches wide. Melt ¼ cup of butter, then brush each strip with the butter. Set aside the unused butter…you’ll use it for the glaze later on.
Sprinkle each strip with the reserved cinnamon and sugar, leaving the edges bare (so that you can seal the dough later). Next, pipe or spoon the cream cheese mixture evenly onto the center of each long strip. I like to use a piping bag to do this, it’s cleaner and more efficient this way.
Roll each trip lengthwise like a jelly roll, pinching the seams together to form three long tubes of sugar-filled dough.
Braid the dough into one long braid, then arrange the braid to form a circle, braiding the ends of the dough strips together as best as possible. Gently transfer the unbaked King Cake onto a large baking sheet that’s been lined with parchment. Cover the unbaked cake with a towel and let rise for 1-1½ hours until almost doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 350 deg F and when ready, bake the King Cake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and hollow sounding when you flick it with your finger. Let the cake cool for one hour on a wire rack.
When the king cake has cooled, make the glaze. Stir together any remaining melted butter (reheat it if necessary), 2 ½ cups of powdered sugar and 3 ½ tablespoons of milk until smooth. Spoon glaze evenly over the top of the cooled King Cake, then sprinkle green, yellow and purple colored sugar on top of the cake, alternating the colors as you go. If you would like, hide a plastic baby or dried bean under the cake for one of your guests to find. Whoever winds up with the baby is king or queen of the day and host of next year’s Mardi Gras party. Enjoy and let the good times roll!
King Cake
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2¼ tsp dry active yeast
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup warm whole milk
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ¼ cup honey
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz softened cream cheese
- 1 egg yolk (at room temperature)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture
- 4 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1½ tbsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup melted butter
Glaze
- leftover butter (see notes)
- 2½ cups powdered sugar
- 3½ tbsp milk
- colored sprinkles
- plastic baby or dried bean (optional)
Instructions
- In a standing mixer or large bowl, Add 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 2¼ teaspoon dry active yeast and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix.
- In a separate bowl, add 1 cup of warm whole milk, a ¼ cup of melted butter and a ¼ cup of honey. Pour the milk mixture into the flour and mix with a dough hook or knead with your hands until smooth. Cover the bowl with a towel and the dough aside.
- Next, make the cream cheese filling. In a bowl, whisk together the softened cream cheese, egg yolk, vanilla, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon and flour until smooth, then set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix together 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1½ tablespoons of ground cinnamon. Set aside.
- Roll out the dough into a 30-inch long by 15-inch-wide rectangle.
- Cut the dough into 3 long strips that are 5 inches wide. Melt ¼ cup of butter, then brush each strip with the butter. Set aside the unused butter…you’ll use it for the glaze.
- Sprinkle each strip with the reserved cinnamon and sugar, leaving the edges bare (so that you can seal the dough later). Next, pipe or spoon the cream cheese mixture evenly onto the center of each long strip. I like to use a piping bag to do this, it’s cleaner and more efficient this way.
- Roll each trip lengthwise like a jelly roll pinching the seams together to form three long tubes of sugar-filled dough. Braid the dough into one long braid, then arrange the braid to form a circle, braiding the ends of the dough strips together as best as possible.
- Gently transfer the unbaked King Cake onto a large baking sheet that’s been lined with parchment. Cover the unbaked cake with a towel and let rise for 1-1½ hours until almost doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and when ready, bake the King Cake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and hollow sounding when you flick it with your finger. Let the cake cool for one hour on a wire rack.
- When the King Cake has cooled, make the glaze. Stir together any remaining melted butter (reheat it if necessary), 2 ½ cups of powdered sugar and 3 ½ tablespoons of milk until smooth. Spoon glaze evenly over the top of the cooled King Cake, then sprinkle green, yellow and purple colored sugar on top of the cake, alternating the colors as you go.
- If you would like, hide a plastic baby or dried bean under the cake for one of your guests to find. Whoever winds up with the baby is king or queen of the day and host of next year’s Mardi Gras party. Enjoy and let the good times roll!
