This traditional Mardi Gras King cake recipe is worlds better than anything you can buy at the grocery store. This simple spiced yeast dough gets filled with a cinnamon sugar filling, twisted into a ring, and adorned with colored sugar. Add a tiny plastic baby to pull the tradition full circle!
2Tablespoons(28g) unsalted buttermelted and allowed to cool
ICING
2cups(240g) powdered sugar
3Tablespoons(45mL) milk or cream
½teaspoonvanilla extract
ADDITIONAL DECOR
sanding sugar or sprinkles in yellow, green, and purple2
small plastic baby3
Instructions
BREAD
Sprinkle yeast over warm water. The best way to test the temperature of your water is to take it from the tap and run your wrist in the stream. If you can’t feel the temperature of the water, it’s perfect. Stir yeast in with a fork until it is dissolved and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon, blend the milk, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Stir in the butter, 2 egg yolks, and yeast mixture.
Gradually stir in flour. If using a stand mixer, use your dough hook. If mixing by hand, continue to use a wooden spoon. Add bread flour until your dough is soft enough to handle, usually when it can easily pull away from the sides of your bowl.
Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. You may need to add the last cup or so of bread flour by hand. Your dough should feel like PlayDoh to the touch and “snap” when you pull it apart.
Place in a warm, greased bowl, turning the dough to coat the top. Cover with a towel and allow to double in size, about 2 hours.
After dough has doubled, punch down dough and turn out onto a floured surface, then make the cinnamon filling.
CINNAMON FILLING
In a medium size bowl, whisk together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt.
Add one reserved egg white and the butter and stir until everything is combined.
ASSEMBLE THE DOUGH
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
Roll out the dough onto a surface safe for cutting into a 14" by 18". Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the rectangle in half long ways so you now have two long rectangles of dough, approximately 7" by 18".
Using a spatula, spread the filling evenly over each rectangle of dough, leaving about a 1" border around the edges.
Working from the long side, roll each rectangle of dough into a tight log. Gently roll the logs back and forth until they are about 20" long.
Transfer the logs to the prepared pan. Pinch one end of each log together and alternate the logs over and under each other (similar to a braid) to form a twisted loaf of bread. Connect the starting and ending pieces together and form the logs into a circle.
Cover with a towel and allow to rest and rise again for 1 hour.
When you are ready to bake the bread, preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC).
Bake the bread for 38-42 minutes. The loaf is done when it produces a hollow sound when you tap on it. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet before decorating.
ICING
In a medium size bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, cream or milk, and vanilla extract. Stir until everything is combined. Mixture will be thick. If you want it thinner, add more liquid ½ Tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.
Spread icing over cooled bread and decorate with sanding sugar or sprinkles. Insert baby from the underside of the bread for someone to find! Bread stays fresh covered at room temperature up to 5 days or in the refrigerator up to 1 week. Un-iced bread freezes well, up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature before decorating and serving.
Video
Notes
Bread flour: you can use all-purpose flour here, but I find the softest texture with bread flour.
Sanding sugar: this is my favorite recommendation to folks who have trouble finding sanding sugar at their local grocery store or craft store.
Baby: here you can find a plastic baby in the skin color of your choice.
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.