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Sweetheart King Cake.
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5 from 3 votes

Sweetheart King Cake

Sweetheart King Cake is a colorful and impressive twist on the traditional Mardi Gras king cake. Forming the king cake into a heart shape adds a festive touch to Valentine’s Day and gives your Mardi Gras celebration extra meaning. The sweet cinnamon and sugar filling takes this king cake over the top, while the cream cheese frosting and Valentine’s sprinkles provide a decadent spin on this classic Mardi Gras treat. 
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
2 hours 40 minutes
Total Time3 hours 25 minutes
Course: Cakes, Mardi Gras, Valeines
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24 servings
Calories: 170kcal
Author: Chula King

Equipment

  • Bread Machine
  • 10-inch heart-shaped cake pan

Ingredients

Tangzhong

  • ¾ cup (6 ounces, 170 grams) milk
  • 4 Tablespoons (1.2 ounces, 34 grams) bread flour

Sweetheart King Cake Dough

  • Tangzhong from above
  • 1 cup (8 ounces, 227) grams milk
  • 6 Tablespoons (3 ounces, 85 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 Tablespoons (1.31 ounces, 37 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
  • 3 cups (15 ounces, 425 grams) bread flour
  • 1 Tablespoon bread machine yeast

Sugar/Cinnamon Filling

  • ¾ cup (5.625 ounces, 159 grams) light brown sugar, packed
  • 3 Tablespoons (0.94 ounces, 27 grams) bread flour
  • 5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • Pinch salt
  • 2 Tablespoons (1 ounce, 28 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
  • ¼ cup (2 ounces, 57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 ½ cups (10 ounces, 284 grams) confectioners' sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons milk, if needed to achieve property consistency
  • Valentine Sprinkles

Instructions

Tangzhong

  • Whisk together ¾ cup milk and 4 ½ tablespoons bread flour in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until a paste forms, about 8 minutes. The Tangzhong is ready when a spoon leaves a line in the pan. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.

Sweetheart King Cake Dough

  • Add the Tangzhong from above, along with the milk, butter, sugar, salt, bread flour, and yeast to the pan of a bread machine. Program on the dough cycle.
  • When the dough cycle finishes, transfer the dough to a floured surface. Divide in half. Wrap half of the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a later use.
  • Roll the remaining dough into a 10-inch by 15-inch rectangle.

Sugar/Cinnamon Filling

  • Whisk together the brown sugar, bread flour, cinnamon, and salt. Add the melted butter and stir until the ingredients are well combined.
  • Spread the sugar/cinnamon filling on the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on one of the long sides.

Sweetheart King Cake

  • Spray a 10-inch heart-shaped pan with non-stick spray; line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • Starting on the non-border long side, tightly roll up the dough. Pinch edges to seal. Trim the ends and cut into 12 cinnamon rolls, approximately 1 ¼-inches each. Place cinnamon rolls around the outer part of the prepared pan. Place a 4-inch metal heart-shaped ring in the center of the pan.
  • Cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm location until double in size, about 1 hour. (See Tip 1)
  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Bake the cinnamon roll cake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a deep golden brown. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack; remove parchment paper and metal ring. Invert again onto wire rack; place rack in aluminum foil-lined baking pan with sides. (See Tip 2)

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and creamy. If needed, add up to 2 teaspoons of milk to achieve the proper consistency.
  • While cinnamon rolls are still warm, spoon on the icing. Allow the icing to drip down the sides and the middle. Sprinkle with Valentine sprinkles.
  • Yield: One Sweetheart King Cake. (See Tip 3)

Video

Notes

  1.  I used the proofing function on my oven for the warm environment. If you don’t have a proofing function, use Julia Child’s method by turning on your electric oven for exactly 1 minute and 45 seconds to produce the perfect environment for the dough to rise. It doesn’t matter what temperature is set because the oven temperature only rises slightly above 100° F.
  2. If using a plastic baby, wait until the cinnamon rolls have baked before inserting it. Otherwise, it could melt from the heat of the oven.
  3. The dough recipe makes enough dough for two Sweetheart King Cakes. If you want to make the second Sweetheart King Cake, double the ingredients for the filling and double the ingredients for the frosting.

Nutrition

Calories: 170kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 192mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 270IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 0.3mg