Bite-Sized King Cakes are the perfect solution for those who want to enjoy the traditional taste of King Cake but on a much smaller scale. They are a fun and convenient option for Mardi Gras parties, festivities, or just a sweet treat for yourself. I like to package my Bite-Sized King Cakes in clear plastic bags tied with purple, green, and yellow ribbon with Mardi Gras beads for an added treat to give to coworkers or friends.
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Dough Ingredients: Here’s What You’ll Need
The dough for these tasty treats is moist and slightly sweet. I used water, egg, salt, butter, sour cream, sugar, bread flour, and instant or bread machine yeast.
Using a Bread Machine to Make the Dough
- As I generally do, I use the bread machine to do most of the work. I started by adding all the dough ingredients to the bread pan in the order listed and then choosing the dough cycle.
- When the dough cycle finished, I removed the dough to a floured surface and divided it into two pieces. Each of the pieces weighed roughly 16 ounces.
I used one of the pieces of dough to make the little king cakes and used the other piece to make rolls.
- I rolled the dough into a rough rectangle approximately 13 inches by 17 inches. Then, I trimmed the dough to be 12 inches by 16 inches.
- Next, I brushed the dough with some melted butter and sprinkled on a mixture of granulated sugar and ground cinnamon.
- Using a pizza cutter, I cut the dough into four 4-inch strips width-wise and then into three 4-inch pieces length-wise. That gave me a total of 12 4 x 4-inch pieces.
Finally, I cut each of the squares in half, giving me a total of 24 4 x 2-inch pieces.
- I rolled each of the 2 x 4-inch rectangles, jelly-roll fashion, into little logs. Then, I brought the ends together and pinched the dough to seal the seam. Finally, I placed the little rounds in a mini-Bundt pan that I had sprayed with nonstick spray.
- After letting the bite-sized king cakes rise for about 20 minutes, I baked them at 375° for about 15 minutes until they were golden brown.
I removed the little cakes from the pan and transferred them to a wire rack to cool slightly.
Finishing the Bite-Sized King Cakes
While the little cakes were baking, I made the frosting by beating together confectioners’ sugar, light corn syrup, milk, and vanilla extract to the desired consistency.
Then, I dipped each bite-sized king cake in the frosting, allowing the excess to drip off. I returned the frosted cakes to the wire rack.
Finally, I sprinkled purple, green, and yellow sprinkles on the frosted cakes.
I ended up with 24 delicious and adorable bite-sized king cakes.
Why not make these Bite-Sized King Cakes for your Mardi Gras Celebrations this year and enjoy this delicious tradition in a new and exciting way? Yum!
Recipe FAQ
It is generally thought that the king cake originated in France, where it was called “galette des rois.”
Purple, green, and gold or yellow are the typical colors of Mardi Gras. Purple signifies justice, green denotes faith, and gold or yellow signifies power.
The small plastic baby figurine, sometimes placed inside the king cake, symbolizes luck and good fortune. The person who finds the baby in their slice of cake is said to have good luck for the rest of the year.
The king cake can be made ahead of time and stored unfrosted in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to a month. Before serving, let the cake come to room temperature and frost and decorate as usual.
Watch How I Make These Adorable Treats
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- The recipe for the dough used in these bite-sized king cakes makes enough for 48 little cakes. I generally just make 24 mini-cakes and, therefore, just use half of the dough. I use the other half of the dough to make delicious rolls.
- I like to package these little treats individually in clear plastic with a string of Mardi Gras beads to give to friends and coworkers. I secure the bag with a rubber band and tie purple, green, and yellow curled ribbons over the rubber band.
- If you don’t have a bread machine, you can use a stand mixer or a food processor to make the dough for the bite-sized king cakes.
- I know that some folks are against using corn syrup in recipes. However, the label clearly states that the light corn syrup is not high fructose corn syrup. I like to use corn syrup because it helps to form an out shell on the frosting, making it easy for packaging. You can, however, omit the corn syrup and just increase the amount of milk.
- For a quick and easy variation on making bite-sized cakes, use store-bought, 8-count cinnamon rolls. Press the cinnamon rolls into the mini-Bundt pan and bake according to the package directions. Remove from the oven. While the mini cakes are still warm, frost them with the supplied frosting and sprinkle with purple, green, and yellow sprinkles. Here are mini-King Cakes made with store-bought cinnamon rolls.
While the mini cakes are still warm, frost them with the supplied frosting and sprinkle with purple, green, and yellow sprinkles.
Here are mini-King Cakes made with store-bought cinnamon rolls.
Other King Cake Recipes
Every year, I make some type of King Cake for Mardi Gras and sometimes for Christmas. If you are a fan of king cakes, here are some ideas.
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Recipe
Bite-Sized King Cakes
Equipment
- Bread machine and mini-Bundt cake pan
Ingredients
Ingredients
Bite-Sized King Cake Dough
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ¼ cup filtered water (the egg plus the water should weigh 4 ounces or 114 grams) (See Tips 1 and 2)
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons (1 ounce, 29 grams) Unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (8 ounces, 227 grams) sour cream
- 3 ½ Tablespoons (1.75 ounces, 50 grams) granulated sugar
- 3 ½ cups (17.5 ounces, 496 grams) all-purpose flour (See Tip 3)
- 2 ½ teaspoons (0.37 ounces, 11 grams) bread machine or instant yeast (See Tip 4)
Sugar/Cinnamon Filling
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ½ cup (3.5 ounces, 100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Frosting
- 2 cups (8 ounces, 227 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2 tablespoon milk, more or less, as needed to reach desired consistency
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Purple, green, and yellow sprinkles
Instructions
Bite-Sized King Cake Dough
- Add the dough ingredients to the bread machine in the order listed. Select the dough cycle and start the machine. After five minutes of mixing, check the dough and add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of water or flour if the dough is too dry or wet.
Sugar/Cinnamon Filling
- Mix together the sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside along with the melted butter.
Frosting
- Beat together confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, milk, and vanilla extract to the desired consistency. Cover until ready to use.
Bite-Sized King Cakes
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray the mini-Bundt cake pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- When the dough cycle finishes, cut the dough in half. Use half of the dough for the mini-king cakes and the other half for another purpose, like rolls.
- Roll the retained half of the dough on a floured surface to approximately 13 inches by 17 ounces. Trim to a neat rectangle that is 12 inches by 16 inches.
- Brush the dough with the melted butter and sprinkle on the sugar/cinnamon mixture.
- Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut four 4-inch-wide strips width-wise from the dough. Then cut each of the strips into three 4-inch-wide strips. You will have a total of 12 strips that are 4 inches by 4 inches.
- Cut each dough strip in half (2 inches by 4 inches). You will now have 24 rectangles, 2 inches by 4 inches.
- Roll each of the 2 x 4-inch rectangles, jelly-roll fashion, into little logs. Bring the ends together and pinch the dough to seal the seam. Place in the prepared mini-Bundt pan and press down slightly. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 14 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Dip each Bite-Sized King Cake in the frosting, allowing the excess to drip off. Sprinkle on purple, green, and yellow sprinkles.
- Yield: 24 Bite-Sized King Cakes.
Chula’s Expert Tips
- There is a fair amount of variability in the size of eggs. Therefore, to ensure the proper consistency of the dough, I like to weigh the combination of the egg and the water.
- You should always use filtered water when making bread dough. The reason is that tap water contains chlorine that can retard the growth of yeast or even kill the yeast.
- I always weigh the flour. The reason is that the quantity of flour can vary greatly depending on how it’s measured. Weighing the flour ensures the property amount for this recipe.
- Instant or bread machine yeast does not need to be proofed before adding it to the ingredients. Active yeast, on the other hand, does require proofing.
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