Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, begins on January 6 and culminates on the day before Ash Wednesday. The King Cake is a quintessential confection decorated in Mardi Gras colors. Purple signifies justice, green denotes faith, and gold or yellow signifies power. Traditionally, a tiny plastic baby is hidden in the King Cake. Whoever ends up with the baby is named “King” for a day and is bound by custom to host the next party and provide the King Cake.
Since we’re in the Mardi Gras season, I thought it would be fun to make a King Cake. I used the recipe based on King Cake in a Bread Machine from the All Recipes site.
Ingredients for the King Cake Dough:
I used the following ingredients for the dough: water, salt, unsalted butter, egg, sour cream (I used reduced fat sour cream), granulated sugar, bread flour and bread machine yeast.
First, I placed the dough ingredients into the bread machine in the order listed and started the machine on the dough cycle. I checked the dough after a bit to see if it was at the proper consistency. It was perfect! After the dough cycle ended, I rolled the dough into a 28×10-inch rectangle on a piece of floured parchment paper. I let it rest every now and then because it was somewhat elastic.
Making the Fillings:
Meanwhile, I worked on the two fillings. For the first filling, I used cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar beaten together. For the second filling, I used granulated sugar, cinnamon, and melted unsalted butter.
Once the dough was roughly 28×10-inches, I trimmed the sides to form the rectangle. First, I spread the cream cheese filling on the dough to about 1-inch from the sides. Then I spread the sugar-cinnamon mixture on the cream cheese filling to about 1-inch from the sides.
Starting at one of the long sides, I carefully began rolling the dough into a log.
I pinched the dough to seal the log, and formed a circle after placing it onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Using a little bit of water, I pinched the ends together to seal the circle and was very careful to ensure an even thickness. Then, I placed a small buttered Pyrex dish in the center to ensure that the center didn’t close up during the rise.
After about 20 minutes, the dough had risen nicely. I popped it into a 350° F oven for 25 minutes. During that time, I made cream cheese icing, which is included in the recipe below.
I let the cake cool for about 10 minutes. Then I decorated the King Cake with the icing, and colored sprinkles. Yum!
Recipe
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Mardi Gras King Cake
Ingredients
King Cake Dough
- 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
- ¼ cup (2 ounces) ¼ cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees F/40 to 45 degrees C), or as needed
- 2 Tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg, slightly beaten
- 3 ½ cups (17.5 ounces) all-purpose flour, or as needed
- 3 ½ Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons instant or bread machine yeast
Filling
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup (2 ounces) confectoners' sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Icing
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 Tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 ½ cups (10 ounces) confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Purple, green, and yellow food glitter
Instructions
King Cake Dough
- Add the dough ingredients to the bread machine in the order listed. Select the dough cycle and start the machine.
Filling
- Beat together the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. (See Note 1)
- Whisk together the sugar and cinnamon until combined. Add melted butter; stir to thoroughly combine. Set aside.
Icing
- Beat cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract together until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
King Cake
- When the dough cycle is finished, remove the dough and roll it out to a 10×28-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Trim the edges as needed. Spread the cream cheese filling on the dough. Then spread the cinnamon/sugar mixture on the dough to within 1 inch of the edges.
- Starting at one of the long edges, roll the dough tightly into a 28-inch log. Pinch the edges to seal the log. Place the rolled log onto the prepared baking sheet, seam side down, and form the dough into a ring. Moisten the ends of the dough with a little water; pinch the two ends together to seal.
- If desired, brush the king cake with egg wash. Using a sharp knife, slash the top of the king cake to allow the steam to escape. Let the cake rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake the king cake in a preheated oven until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
- Remove the king cake from the oven and cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. While the cake is still warm, spoon the icing onto it, allowing the icing to dribble down the sides. Immediately, sprinkle purple, green, and yellow food glitter on the cake.
- Yield: One King Cake.
Tips/Notes
- May omit the cream cheese filling and just use the cinnamon/sugar filling.
