Mardi Gras King Cake (Printable Version)
A festive King Cake featuring cream cheese filling and traditional Mardi Gras colored sugars.
# What You Need:
→ Dough
01 - 1 cup warm milk (110°F)
02 - 2¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
03 - ½ cup granulated sugar
04 - 4 cups all-purpose flour
05 - ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
06 - 2 large eggs
07 - 1 tsp salt
08 - ½ tsp ground nutmeg
09 - ½ tsp ground cinnamon
→ Cream Cheese Filling
10 - 8 oz cream cheese, softened
11 - ¾ cup powdered sugar
12 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
→ Topping
13 - 2 cups powdered sugar
14 - 2-3 tbsp milk
15 - ½ tsp vanilla extract
16 - Purple, green, and gold colored sugars
# How-To:
01 - Combine warm milk, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a large bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy.
02 - Add the remaining sugar, melted butter, eggs, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon to the yeast mixture. Mix thoroughly until well combined.
03 - Gradually incorporate flour, mixing until a soft dough forms. Knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
04 - Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
05 - Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
06 - Punch down dough and roll out on a floured surface into a 10x20-inch rectangle.
07 - Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges.
08 - Roll up the dough tightly from the long side, pinching seams to seal. Shape into a ring and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, seam side down. Pinch ends together to seal the ring.
09 - Cover and let rise for 45 minutes until puffy.
10 - Preheat oven to 350°F.
11 - Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
12 - Mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract to make a thick glaze. Drizzle over cooled cake.
13 - Immediately sprinkle with purple, green, and gold sugars in alternating sections while glaze is still wet.
# Expert Hints:
01 -
- The cream cheese filling transforms this from a sweet bread into something that feels like a special occasion pastry
- Children and adults alike get caught up in the silly excitement of who might find the hidden baby
02 -
- Hide the plastic baby or dried bean after baking by pushing it into the underside of the cake, never before
- The cream cheese filling can leak during baking if your seam is not pinched tightly enough
03 -
- A warm oven with just the light on is the perfect spot for dough to rise if your kitchen is drafty
- The colored sugars go everywhere during application, so put down parchment or wax paper first