Mardi Gras Baby Cake
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!
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients
BREAD
- 1 cup (240mL) warm milk I prefer whole milk
- 2 and ¼ teaspoon (7g) active dry yeast or 1 packet
- ⅓ cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 6 Tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 and ½ to 5 cups (540-600g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
CINNAMON FILLING
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) firmly packed brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter melted and allowed to cool
ICING
- 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar
- 3 to 4 Tablespoons (45-60mL) milk or cream1
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
ADDITIONAL DECOR
- sanding sugar or sprinkles in yellow, green, and purple2
- small plastic baby3
Need to keep track of your ingredients?Check out my Printable Ingredient List!
Instructions
BREAD
- Place warm milk in a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and the granulated sugar on top of the water. Whisk with a fork, wooden spoon, or spatula and allow to rest and activate for 10 minutes.1 cup (240mL) warm milk, 2 and ¼ teaspoon (7g) active dry yeast, ⅓ cup (67g) granulated sugar
- Once the yeast mixture is active and bubbly, add the eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk to combine.2 large eggs, 6 Tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon salt
- Gradually stir in flour. If using a stand mixer, use your dough hook. If mixing by hand, continue to use a wooden spoon. Add 3 cups of flour, allow dough to come together, then add the softened butter and continue to blend. When butter is mostly incorporated, add the remaining 1 and ½ cups of flour and blend until dough has mostly come together. It may still be shaggy, but it should pull away from the sides of the bowl fairly easily.4 and ½ to 5 cups (540-600g) all-purpose flour
- Turn out dough on a floured surface and knead for about 8-10 minutes, adding flour about 1 Tablespoon at a time if the dough is too sticky, until smooth and elastic. Your dough should resemble the surface texture of PlayDoh when it is done. 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 and allow it to rest while you make the cinnamon filling.
CINNAMON FILLING
- In a medium size bowl, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Whisk or stir until well-blended. Set aside.½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (100g) firmly packed brown sugar, 3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
- Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle approximately 14" x 18" in size. Dough will be very elastic, so be patient and keep rolling. There is no need to rush this step.
- When you have your rectangle, slice it in half so that you have two rectangles 7" and 18" in size. Brush the melted butter evenly over the two pieces of dough, leaving about ½" border around the edges. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly over the melted butter.¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter
ASSEMBLE THE DOUGH
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Working from the long side, roll each rectangle of dough into tight logs, then 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 30-35 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, 3 Tablespoons of the 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.2 cups (240g) powdered sugar, 3 to 4 Tablespoons (45-60mL) milk or cream1, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour or spread the 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 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before decorating and serving.sanding sugar or sprinkles in yellow, green, and purple2, small plastic baby3
Video
Notes
- Icing: if you want more of a slightly spreadable icing, use 3 Tablespoons of milk, but if you want one that's more pourable, use 4 Tablespoons of milk.
- 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.
- Make ahead: this dough can be made the ahead of time through step 3 of the “assemble the dough” instructions. Cover ring with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator overnight or up to 18 hours. When you are ready to bake the ring, remove it from the refrigerator and allow to rise in a warm environment, about 1 hour. Continue with step 4 in the “assemble the dough” instructions.
- To freeze baked bread: baked bread freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm before enjoying.
- To freeze unbaked bread: parbake the ring for 10 minutes at 350°F (177ºC). Allow to cool completely, cover tightly, then freeze. Remove the ring from the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Finish baking for the remaining 20-25 minutes before frosting and serving.
- Working with yeast: for a comprehensive look at working with yeast in a recipe, see my post about how to bake with yeast.
- Make the flavor more fun: you can use any of my cinnamon roll recipes as the base for this king cake! Just be sure you're making a recipe written for 12 rolls-- most of mine are written to make 6, so just double it.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 281kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 217mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 372IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 0.4mg
