So, what goes into making a King Cake for Mardi Gras? A giant vanilla cake is with a butter, brown sugar and ground cinnamon layer filling between and topped with a colorful, Mardi Gras inspired almond frosting with purple, green and yellow food coloring and sprinkles. And don’t forget to hide a pecan half, a bean or even a baby toy in your cake. It’s a real stand-out, show-stopping cake that will guarantee to wow your crowd!
To make King Cake for Mardi Gras, you will need the following ingredients:
In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine ¼ cup water and 2 teaspoons of dry-active yeast and set aside to dissolve and activate.
Add 8 tablespoons of butter, ¼ cup milk, 2 large, lightly beaten eggs, 2 tablespoons of sugar, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and stir to combine.
Add 3 cups of flour and gently mix to form a loose dough. Set remaining ½ cup flour aside for later.
Using your hands or the hook attachment, knead for about 5-7 minutes until the dough begins to come together and is smooth and elastic, resembling play dough. Using your hands may take a few more minutes. If the dough sticks, add some of the reserved flour.
Lightly coat a clean bowl with a little vegetable oil or cooking spray. Shape dough into a ball and place inside, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for about 1 hour to rise until doubled in volume.
Once risen, roll dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a rectangle about 24x10-inches.
Spread a thin layer of butter all over the dough leaving about ½-inch border at the top end of the rectangle.
In a small bowl, stir ⅔ cup packed brown sugar and 1½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon until mixed. Sprinkle evenly over the layer of butter and gently press so that it sticks to the butter.
Place dry bean or half of a pecan in the center of the rectangle.
Starting at the longest end, roll the dough upwards and then pinch the log closed and roll over to create a seam. Curl into a spiral shape and overlap the ends. Lightly pinch to form a seal.
Transfer dough to a baking sheet lined with baking parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for another 45-60 minutes to rise again until puffy and larger.
Halfway through rising, preheat oven to 350 °F. Bake in the preheated oven for about 35-45 minutes until lightly browned and golden-brown. A little syrup from the filling may ooze out.
Allow cake to cool on the baking sheet before removing to cool on a wire rack to room temperature.
In a small bowl, whisk 1 cup of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk and ¼ teaspoon of almond extract until thick but pourable. Add some more milk as needed. Use white icing if decorating with colorful sprinkles or divide into 3 portions and add food coloring according to the Mardi Gras theme.
Once cooled, drizzle prepared icing over the cake in different patches, stripes or designs of your choice. If using sprinkles, cover cake in white icing and decorate with colorful sprinkles.
Slice, serve and enjoy!
This King Cake Mardi Gras recipe has some real baking goals to help show off your skills. Almost similar to baking bread, this is a very dense cake and we just love it! Do you? Send us you Mardi Gras festival pics and tag #cookmerecipes in your own blogs online!
Delicious! I made this King Cake for my family during Mardi Gras, and they loved it! The vibrant colors brought back fond memories of celebrations from my childhood. Simple yet impressive, it's a must-try recipe.
OMG, this King Cake is the bomb! Whipped it up for Mardi Gras and my kids absolutely loved it! Super easy to make and the flavors are next level. Plus, hiding the little toy in there was a fun surprise for everyone. Definitely a show-stopper for sure! Can’t wait to make it again!
OMG, this King Cake is amazeballs! I made it for Mardi Gras, and my fam went wild over it. The flavor was off the charts, and hiding the baby toy made it super fun! Totally brought the party vibes! Can't wait to make it again next year!
Hice este pastel para la fiesta de Mardi Gras y a todos les encantó. La combinación de sabores es excepcional y muy festiva. ¡Gracias!
I made this King Cake for Mardi Gras, and it was a hit! My husband loved finding the hidden pecan. It reminded me of the first time I celebrated Mardi Gras with my family. The vibrant colors and flavors brought back such good memories. Simple and delicious, I will for sure make this again!
Hice este pastel de rey para una fiesta de Mardi Gras y fue un gran éxito. A todos les encantó el sabor a vainilla con el glaseado de almendra. Me sentí como un campeón al encontrar el juguete en el pastel. Definitivamente lo haré de nuevo para la próxima celebración.
Hice este King Cake para la fiesta de Mardi Gras y fue todo un éxito. La combinación de sabores es simplemente deliciosa. A todos les encantó buscar la sorpresa en el interior. Me sentí tan orgullosa de compartirlo con mis amigos.
OMG, this King Cake is the bomb! Made it for our Mardi Gras party, and my kiddos freaked out when they found the baby! It was super easy to whip up, and that almond frosting? To die for! Totally bringing it back next year!
Amazing! I made this King Cake for Mardi Gras and it was such a hit. Friends couldn’t believe how delicious it was. The bright colors made my little gathering feel so festive. Proud to have made such a beautiful cake!
Wow! This King Cake rocked our Mardi Gras party! It was so easy to whip up, and everyone loved the sweet surprise inside. I remember making it with my kids—definitely a fun and messy kitchen moment! Can’t wait to do it again next year!
OMG, this King Cake is a total game-changer! Made it for Mardi Gras and everyone was blown away. Such a breeze to whip up and the flavors? Mind-blowing! My kids went nuts over the hidden baby toy. Yasss!
Superb! Made this king cake with my kids for Mardi Gras. They loved finding the baby toy inside, and it tasted amazing. Will definitely make it a family tradition!
Delicious!
This cake thrilled us
Delicious!
