I originally shared this recipe for Mardi Gras King Cake many years ago, when Our Best Bites was an itty bitty baby and my relationship with Louisiana was in its early stages. Things have changed a lot since then, but some things never change: Mardi Gras is still the most fun time of year around here, king cake can either be incredibly delicious or completely terrible, and, delicious as they are, the traditional big cakes are impossible to make look good in pictures. Luckily, I’ll show you how to make a traditional big one as well as a bunch of smaller cakes, which are really fun and a super cute way to celebrate, whether you’re a Louisianan or just partying like one.
There’s a lot of symbolism and just stuff involved with king cake, most notably the gold, green, and purple sprinkles and the plastic baby (I’ve heard the colors represent the three wise men and also that purple=justice, green=faith, gold=power; I’ve also heard that the three colors represent The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, so I just don’t know what’s true. Also, the finder of the plastic baby (which is Baby Jesus) gets to be the next Mardi Gras king or queen.) I don’t recommend baking the babies (or dried beans, in a pinch) inside the cake for lots of reasons; if you decide to use the plastic babies, I recommend tucking the baby into the bottom of the cake after it’s baked or using them on top as decoration. If you’re only hiding one, tradition stands that whoever finds it has to bring the next King Cake or host the next party!
This recipe is full of lots of options and alternatives, but I’ve tried to keep it as simple and organized as possible. Just like just about every traditional Louisiana food, there are a million ways to do it and everyone thinks theirs is the right way, depending on where they live and their family traditions. I have the luxury of being able to say, “Ermmm, I’m not from here…” and then awkwardly exiting the conversation with a mouth full of carbs.
Ingredients and Supplies Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Ingredients
Dough
- Whole milk
- Vegetable oil
- Granulated sugar
- Active dry yeast
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Table salt
Fillings – Choose one of the following options for large cakes
- Cinnamon cream cheese
- cream cheese
- powdered sugar
- almond extract
- cinnamon
- Fruit and cream cheese
- cream cheese
- powdered sugar
- almond or vanilla extract
- canned cherries or strawberries
- Cinnamon sugar
- butter
- cinnamon
- sugar
Toppings
- Butter, cinnamon, and sugar – To top before baking for individual cakes.
- Glaze – After baking.
- powdered sugar
- butter
- almond extract
- milk or half and half
- Purple, green, and gold sprinkles – Amazon is a great place to find purple, gold, and green sprinkles.
Supplies
- Plastic babies – If you’re in the market for plastic babies, I bought mine here and got them almost immediately. You can always try Amazon, but the options are kind of limited. That said, Amazon is a great place to find purple, gold, and green sprinkles.
How to Make Mardi Gras King Cake
Step 1: Make the Dough
- To get your dough going, you’ll combine milk, sugar, and oil in a large pot and heat just to boiling, and then remove from heat and let it cool to just warm. If you’ve got lots of ice handy, dump all that you have into a clean sink and then place the pan of scalded milk over the ice. This way, the milk mixture cools quickly and the melted ice just drips down the drain.
- When the milk has cooled to 105-115°F, you’ll sprinkle in some yeast. After that has bloomed, you’ll add some flour to make a thin, almost batter-like dough. That gets set aside to rise for an hour.
- After an hour you’ll add a little more flour, along with some baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix the dough together, using your hands if necessary, until everything is well incorporated.
- The dough then gets covered and popped in the fridge for a few hours, or up to a few days (just be sure and punch the dough down as necessary so it doesn’t spill all over your fridge). When you’re ready to bake, move onto the next step.
Step 2: Shape, Fill, Rise, and Bake
For Large Cakes:
- If making large cakes, you’ll have enough dough for 2. Roll out half the dough and spread half of your chosen filling over it. Roll the dough into a tube shape and seal all of the edges, then shape the tube into a circle on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Repeat with the other half of dough on a another parchment-lined baking sheet. Place a towel over the dough and allow cakes to rise for 20-30 minutes, then bake, cool, and decorate.
For Individual Cakes:
- For individual cakes, you won’t do a filling. You’ll divide the dough into 16 portions, then in half and roll each each of those smaller portion into a snake shape.
- You’ll use two “snakes” for each cake. Lay them across each other and tie the bottom snake over the top one. Repeat with the other snake, and then tuck any loose ends under the cake.
- When you have made all 16 cakes, brush the tops with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and allow them to rise on two parchment-lined baking sheets for 20-30 minutes before baking.
Step 3: Glaze and Decorate
- While the cakes are cooling, prepare the glaze. Mix powdered sugar and melted butter together with an electric mixer. Add in almond extract and then add enough milk to achieve the desired consistency you want for your glaze.
- When the cakes are cool, spoon the glaze over the cakes and then sprinkle with alternating yellow, purple, and green sugars and top with a plastic baby. If you’d like the baby hidden, you could carefully tuck it into the top or bottom of your cakes after they are completely cool, but before glazing.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished cinnamon sugar cakes at room temperature, tightly covered, for up to 2-3 days for best results.
- If you have used cream cheese in your filling, store the finished cakes in the fridge, tightly covered, and enjoy within 4-5 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can bake King Cake up to 2 days ahead of time and store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator (if using cream cheese in the filling). For best presentation and freshness, wait to glaze and decorate until the day you plan to serve it. You can also prep the dough and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before baking.
You can! I recommend freezing before glazing and decorating. Wrap the cakes tightly in plastic and then foil. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature (no cream cheese filling) or overnight in the fridge (cream cheese fillings) and decorate before serving.
Definitely not. You can forego the plastic baby, or use something else in its place, like a dry bean.
Mardi Gras King Cake
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 cup vegetable oil mild, like peanut or canola
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 packages active dry yeast 1 tablespoon + 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 9 cups all purpose flour lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a spoon
- 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
- 1 scant teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon table salt
Fillings – Choose a filling option for large cakes
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¾ teaspoon almond extract
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
Fruit & Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¾ teaspoon almond extract or vanilla
- ½ heaping cup canned cherries or strawberries
Cinnamon Sugar Filling (You won't use all of this)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons cinnamon
Icing
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- ½ cup butter melted
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- enough milk or half and half to reach desired consistency
Toppings
- purple, green, and gold sprinkles green, and gold sprinkles
- plastic babies
Instructions
Prepare Dough
- To prepare the dough, combine milk, sugar, and oil in a large pot. Heat just to boiling, stirring occasionally, and then remove from heat.
- If you’ve got lots of ice handy, dump all that you have into a clean sink and then place the pan of scalded milk over the ice. This way, the milk mixture cools quickly and the melted ice just drips down the drain.
- When the milk is warm (around 105-115℉), remove from ice and sprinkle yeast over the milk mixture. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. Stir. Mix in 8 cups of flour (lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife) with a wooden spoon (the dough will be VERY soft, almost like a batter) and cover with a clean dish cloth and allow to rise for 1 hour.
- Mix remaining 1 cup flour with baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Sprinkle over the dough and then mix it in with the wooden spoon. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the pan and refrigerate for at least a few hours and up to a few days–just be sure to check on it periodically and punch the dough down if necessary.
Shape, Fill, Rise, and Bake
- When ready to make your King Cakes, decide how you want to prepare them. This dough will make enough for 2 large king cakes, 16 small, individual cakes, or a combination of the two (like one large cake and 8 small cakes). You'll also need to decide how you want to fill them (I'm including instructions for cinnamon cream cheese, cream cheese and fruit, and cinnamon sugar. See the notes below for instructions on preparing each filling option.
To Make Large Cakes (Filled)
- To prepare cakes, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Turn dough onto a greased surface and divide in half. Roll one half into a 4-5″-24″ rectangle. If using one of the cream cheese fillings, spread with 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture. If using cinnamon sugar, spread about 3-4 tablespoons softened butter onto the dough, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. and then carefully roll the dough lengthwise into a tube. Seal the edges of the dough and then carefully form a circle and seal the two ends together.
- Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet and cover with a clean cloth.
- Preheat oven to 375℉ and repeat with other 1/2 portion of dough.
- Bake each ring for 20-35 minutes or until the tops are deep, golden brown–you don’t want to burn them, but you want to make sure the cakes are cooked all the way through. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
To Make Individual Cakes (Not Filled)
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 16 equal portions. Then divide each portion in half and roll each portion into "snakes" about 10-12" long. Lay one snake on top of the other, carefully tie the bottom snake into a knot around the top portion of dough, then tie the other dough snake into a knot. Tuck the ends under the dough and arrange the knots so they look the way you want them. (See pictures above to see how this works…it's easier than it sounds.) Repeat with remaining dough, making 8 cakes per pan, 16 cakes total.
- Melt 4-6 tablespoons of butter and brush generously over the cakes. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Cover and allow to rise for 20-30 minutes.
- While the cakes are rising, preheat oven to 375 F. Bake for 18-20 minutes (or longer if necessary) or until the tops and edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Glazing the Cakes
- While the cakes are cooling, prepare the glaze. Mix powdered sugar and melted butter together with an electric mixer. Add in almond extract and then add enough milk to achieve the desired consistency you want for your glaze. When the cakes are cool, spoon the glaze over the cakes and then sprinkle with alternating yellow, purple, and green sugars and top with a plastic baby. If you'd like to hide the baby, press it carefully into the top or bottom of the cake before glazing and decorating.
Notes
- Store finished cinnamon sugar cakes at room temperature, tightly covered, for up to 2-3 days for best results.
- If you have used cream cheese in your filling, store the finished cakes in the fridge, tightly covered, and enjoy within 4-5 days.
Filling Instructions
Cinnamon Cream Cheese (enough for 1 cake) Combine softened cream cheese, cinnamon, almond extract, and powdered sugar in a small mixer and mix with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Fruit & Cream Cheese Combine softened cream cheese, canned fruit, almond extract, and powdered sugar in a small mixer and mix with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Cinnamon Sugar Whisk together granulated sugar and cinnamon. You will not use the entire recipe–save any leftovers for other uses.Nutrition
Questions & Reviews
hi Sara: i never had a mother who taught me to cook; to bake yes, but not cook. You have become my "tutorial cooking mom". just wanted to say thx
PS the marzipan carrots are the cutest ever for my Easter carrot cake! 😉
thx, grandma pam/dawn's mom
First up I have to say I love this blog!!! Now I have one question to ask on regards to the milk used in the recipe. Does it have to be whole milk? I never use it really and always use lite. Thx in advance.
I loved the surprise filling inside.
I'd never heard of King Cakes until I read your post yesterday. Today I went to the grocery store here in Virginia, (I've only lived here for a year and a half) and guess what I saw? A King cake!! I doubt I would have paid any attention to them (I never noticed them last year) if I hadn't seen your blog.
We just spent all day getting sunburned for plastic beads and stuffed animals, so I think we will top it off with another King Cake!
Oh we are going to make that. It caught the eye of my daughter so I assuming she is volunteering herself!
Thank you! Perfect timing,as I was trying to plan my Mardi Gras celebration for my daycare kiddos tomorrow. This will be way better than some cinnamon rolls in a circle that I try and pass off as King Cake. Now to dig to the back of the pantry and hope there is some almond extract.
as someone who has eaten many king cakes…thank you! i am forwarding this to my sister (who got me hooked on king cakes) and i will be trying this!!!
I am so excited you put this recipe on here! I was just telling my husband the other day that I wanted to try baking our own King Cake this year! We live in the 2nd largest Mardi Gras town in Louisiana so this will be AWESOME! Thanks so much!
And yes, Milk is expensive down here.
Thank you for solving one of life's great mysteries! I was very unfamiliar with the King Cake but had heard the term a few times!! It is very festive!