Mardi Gras King Cake
It’s Mardi Gras time! Mardi Gras conjures up images of fun, frivolity and feasting and no Mardi Gras celebration would be complete without a colorful King Cake. A brioche or sweet roll dough is braided, baked in a circle and decorated with icing and purple, green and gold sugars. Kind of like a crown shaped cinnamon roll all dressed up for a party.
My sister lived in Louisiana for many years and she talks about all the fabulous King Cakes she’s had over the years. So when Betty Crocker offered me the opportunity to develop a Mardi Gras King Cake recipe for their site, it was the perfect opportunity for me to finally bake this scrumptious bread/coffee cake.
My recipe uses Quick Rise yeast which eliminates the time consuming first rise in many brioche recipe. My cake is filled with a traditional cinnamon sugar filling, but would be fabulous with a cream cheese or fruit filling as well.
Mardi Gras King Cake
Ingredients:
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) Quick Rise yeast
- 1 cup milk (120º to 130º)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, cut into 12 pieces
Cinnamon Filling:
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Icing:
- 1 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Decoration:
- dark green, purple, and yellow or gold sugars
- miniature plastic baby
Directions:
Mix 2 1/2 cups flour and yeast in mixing bowl, using the paddle attachment, on low for about 30 seconds.
Heat milk, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and milk is between 120º to 130º.
With mixer on low, pour in liquids and mix until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time. Continue mixing until a shaggy dough forms. Clean off paddle and switch to dough hook. Mix in the remaining 1 cup flour a little at a time, adding more or less flour as needed to make a soft dough. Add the softened butter, a piece at a time, kneading until each piece of butter is absorbed.
Knead for eight minutes on low. The dough should completely clear the sides of the bowl. If it is too sticky, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing in thoroughly before determining if more flour is needed. If the dough seems too dry, spritz with water from a spray bottle a couple of times, mixing in thoroughly before determining if more water is needed. Every 2 minutes, stop the machine, scrape the dough off the hook, and then continue kneading.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times by hand to be sure it’s smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball. Place dough into a greased bowl. Turn once so greased surface is on top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
While the dough is chilling, make cinnamon filling. Combine the brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Combine butter with cinnamon mixture and mix well.
Roll the chilled dough into a 10 x 20 inch rectangle. Spread the filling on half of the long side of the dough. Fold the dough in half covering the filling. Pat dough down firmly so the dough will stick together. Cut dough into three long strips. Press the tops of the strips together and braid the strips. Press the ends together at the bottom. Gently stretch the braid so that it measures 20 inches again. Shape it into a circle/oval and press the edges together. If desired, hide the miniature plastic baby in between the ends of the circle before sealing together in a ring. (You can also make a slit in the bottom of the cake and put the baby in after the cake is baked.)
Transfer the ring to a parchment lined or greased baking sheet. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350º. Bake the cake until it is golden brown, 20–35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes on baking sheet and then place it on a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.
Icing:
In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth (add additional milk if mixture is too thick or powdered sugar if too thin).
Spoon icing over top of the cake. Immediately sprinkle on colored sugar, alternating between the three colors.
Tips:
– Use a pizza cutter to easily cut dough into strips.
– The cake can also be made without braiding. Just roll up the dough jelly roll style after
spreading the filling.
I made the kind cake tonight (DELICIOUS – from the scraps I baked) but I want to bring the bigger cake to work tomorrow. Should I ice it tonight or in the morning? How should I store it in the meantime?
Hi Elizabeth – either tonight or the morning is fine. The colors might be more vibrant if you do it in the morning. I would store it in an airtight cake container if you have one. If not, just cover it completely, but not too tightly with plastic wrap and keep it on the counter. Glad you enjoyed it!
I love this recipe! I made two of these cakes this year and both turned out beautifully and tasted delicious. This is definitely my new go-to King Cake recipe!
Thanks Susie! Now I’m wishing I’d made one this year 🙂
Hi Barbara, when you go to roll out tg dough to put in the filling, do you roll it out on flour or parchment paper or does it not matter? First timer, making it for a king came tasting party! I can’t wait to see how it comes out!
Hi Brittney – I usually roll out my dough on a lightly floured pastry mat http://amzn.to/2lEZ9F2 but if you don’t have a mat, roll it out on a lightly floured counter. The parchment paper will probably slide around while you’re trying to roll it out and make it difficult. How fun to have a King Cake tasting party. Take a picture and tweet or Instagram it and tag me 🙂
Any tips for keeping the cinnamon inside?…I have made this recipe twice this month and each time the cinnamon escapes the braid while baking.
Hi Lisa – a lot of the filling bubbles out no matter what you do – it’s the same when you make cinnamon rolls. It does help if you press the dough firm together before cutting it in to strips.
Hi Barbara, I am going to try this recipe this week and was wondering if I wanted to use cream cheese, would I put that in place of the brown sugar/cinnamon layer? Also, is there any additional or less time it would need to bake?
Hi April – If I was going to fill it with cream cheese, I would skip the braiding part and do a faux braid similar to this http://www.barbarabakes.com/citrus-cranberry-cream-cheese-danish-braid-and-a-hodgson-mill-giveaway/. Just make it long enough so you can shape it into a circle at the end and pinch the ends together.
I braided it with cream cheese filling once. I had cream cheese every where!! Will definitely try this way next time!
Hello! From Louisiana but currently stationed in Japan. I am very eager to try your recipe but I don’t own a stand mixer. Is this possible without one? I appreciate any advice!
Yes, you can. Here’s info on kneading by hand http://redstaryeast.com/yeast-baking-lessons/baking-steps-guide/kneading/ Enjoy!
I was born and raised in Louisiana. This took me back. Was absolutely delicious. Thank you so much.
Hi Barbara,
I completef the first steps and have my dough chilling in a bowl in the fridge. While juggling dinner, a 5 month old and pre-making his dinners I left my dough in the fridge for much longer than an hour… and it looks like it’s going to continue to chill overnight. Is my dough ruined? Will it rise too much? Any advice you can give me to salvage/continue with the cake is appreciated!
Hi Heather – your dough will be fine overnight in the fridge. Just be sure it’s in a big bowl because it may rise even in the fridge. I’ve had doughs grow out of the bowl and become uncovered and the uncovered part gets dried out a bit. It will take longer to rise tomorrow, so be patient. But dough is very forgiving and you should be fine. Enjoy!
Pardon my language but how the hell did you braid that thing? I tried and everything fell to pieces.
Hi Amanda – sounds like your dough may have been to soft.
Hi Barbra, I was wondering if I don’t have the hook attachment, could I kneed the dough by hand? How should I go about mixing in the butter? Thank you!
Hi Kaycie – sure you can knead it by hand, just put the butter in the middle and wrap the dough around it and knead it in a little at a time. 🙂