Mardi Gras King Cake (Print version)
Festive King Cake with rich cream cheese filling and colorful sugars, perfect for Mardi Gras celebrations.
# Ingredient List:
→ Dough
01 - 1 cup warm milk (about 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, room temperature
07 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
08 - ½ tsp almond extract
09 - 1 tsp salt
10 - ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
→ Cream Cheese Filling
11 - 8 oz cream cheese, softened
12 - ½ cup powdered sugar
13 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
→ Cinnamon Sugar
14 - ⅓ cup granulated sugar
15 - 2 tsp ground cinnamon
→ Icing
16 - 1½ cups powdered sugar
17 - 2-3 tbsp milk
18 - ½ tsp vanilla extract
→ Decoration
19 - Purple, green, and gold sanding sugars
20 - 1 plastic baby or dried bean (optional)
# How To Make It:
01 - Combine warm milk and yeast in a large bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes until foamy.
02 - Add sugar, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, almond extract, salt, and nutmeg to the yeast mixture. Mix until combined.
03 - Gradually add flour, mixing until a soft dough forms. Knead by hand or with a mixer for 5-7 minutes until smooth and elastic.
04 - Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1-1½ hours until doubled in size.
05 - Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
06 - In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and granulated sugar.
07 - Punch down risen dough and roll into a 10x24-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface.
08 - Spread cream cheese filling lengthwise down the center third of the dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
09 - Fold one long side of dough over the filling, then the other, pinching seams to seal. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and shape into a ring, pinching ends together.
10 - Cover and let rise for 45 minutes until puffy.
11 - Preheat oven to 350°F.
12 - Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes.
13 - Whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth and pourable.
14 - Drizzle icing over cooled cake. Sprinkle with colored sugars in alternating sections.
15 - Once completely cool, gently insert the plastic baby or dried bean into the underside of the cake.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The cream cheese filling transforms this from slightly sweet bread into something that feels like a special occasion dessert
- Watching people discover the hidden baby never gets old, and the colors make any table feel festive
02 -
- The dough might seem sticky while kneading but resist adding more than a tablespoon of extra flour or the cake will turn out tough
- Let the cake cool completely before slicing or that cream cheese filling will ooze out everywhere instead of staying put
03 -
- Use kitchen shears to cut the cake instead of a knife, it squishes the delicate layers less and makes cleaner slices
- If you can't find the traditional colored sugars, regular food coloring mixed with regular sugar works in a pinch