Mardi Gras King Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Bake this classic king cake recipe & no matter how far you are from New Orleans, it's a Mardi Gras party in your kitchen! This one has a traditional cinnamon sugar filling rolled up in a buttery, eggy yeasted dough, flavored with a hint of orange zest, and topped with tangy cream cheese frosting and colorful sugar.
Ingredients
King Cake Dough
- 1 cup whole milk 8 oz
- ¼ cup salted butter 2 oz
- 1 tbsp orange zest (optional) zest of half an orange
- 4 tsp yeast 2 packets (1 tbsp + 1 tsp)
- ⅔ cup warm water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 5 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp salt (increase to 2 tsp if you use unsalted butter)
- ½ tsp nutmeg
King Cake Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- ½ cup softened butter 4 oz
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 3 cups confectioner's sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp softened butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4-6 tbsp milk
- 6 oz softened cream cheese, cubed
Garnishes
- green, purple and gold decorating sugar or nonpareils
- food coloring to tint frosting optional
- plastic or ceramic baby, plastic coin, or other feve decoration, or a dried lima bean optional
Instructions
Scald Milk & Mise Ingredients
- In a one quart saucepan, scald the milk over medium low heat. You want to bring it up to at least 170 ℉ but below a boil. Turn the heat off, and add the butter and orange zest. Set aside and let the mixture cool to about 95℉.
- While the milk mixture is cooling, get your other ingredients measured or assembled, and proof your yeast.
- Measure out the flour (fluff the flour in the bag or spoon it into the measuring cup) and mix with the salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
Proof Yeast
- In the stand mixer bowl or a large mixing bowl, add the ⅔ cup warm water, one tablespoon of the sugar, and the yeast. You don't technically need to proof instant yeast, as it's formulated to dissolve in the bread without activating it, but it will still give your dough a jumpstart on a healthy fermentation.
Mix King Cake Dough
- To the stand mixer or mixing bowl with the proofed yeast, whisk and add the eggs, the rest of the sugar, and the lukewarm milk mixture and mix until combined. You may want to use the paddle attachment for this or mix by hand before switching to the dough hook to knead the dough.
- Add the dry ingredients and knead for 10 minutes, or until you have a soft, supple, but somewhat sticky dough.
- Transfer dough mixture to an oiled or buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a tightly fitting lid, and let rise until doubled (about 2 hours).
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- While the dough is rising, make the cinnamon sugar filling. Either by hand or in your stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together the sugar, softened butter, and cinnamon (or other spices if desired). Whip until the mixture is uniform and smooth. Set aside.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- I make this while the cake is baking, but you can do it whenever it's convenient in the process for you. Measure the powdered sugar & salt into your mixing bowl, and either by hand or with the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, blend in the softened butter and vanilla extract.
- Drizzle in 4 tablespoons of milk, and add an additional tablespoon or two if needed to make a thick frosting. Continue to beat until it is smooth and has no lumps.
- Add the softened cream cheese in chunks as the mixer is running. Beat until the cream cheese is fully incorporated into the frosting.
- If desired, you can divide the frosting into three bowls and tint them purple, green, and yellow with food coloring, or leave the frosting white and just decorate the tops with colored sugar and/or nonpareils.
Shape the King Cakes
- Punch down the dough, and divide in half. On a well-floured work surface or preferably, a parchment sheet or silicone baking mat, press and pull the ball of dough into a rectangle, about 10"x16".
- Spread half the cinnamon sugar filling onto the dough rectangle. You may want to spoon it out evenly across the dough, then spread it thin with a spatula or your fingertips. Stop an inch or two from the farthest long edge- this will help you seal the dough when you roll it up.
- Starting from the long edge of dough closest to you, gently roll the dough up into a tight cylinder. Pinch the seam together, and roll and stretch the dough together to make a log of even thickness.
- Curl the dough around and press the two edges together. Pinch the dough tightly together to make an oblong ring. Use the parchment or silicone liner to transfer the cake to a sheet pan.
- Using a pair of sharp kitchen scissors or a paring knife, snip partially through the ring of dough, and fan the slices outwards. Repeat the shaping with the second ball of dough and the remaining cinnamon sugar filling.
- Let the cakes rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, or cover with plastic wrap and let them proof overnight in the fridge (pull them out to come up to room temperature at least 15-25 minutes before baking in the morning). Preheat the oven to 375 ℉, and make the cream cheese frosting while the cakes are rising.
- Bake the cakes for 35-45 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking so they bake evenly. Let them cool for about 10 minutes, and frost the cakes while they are still warm. Decorate them with green, purple, and yellow colored sugar, or use food coloring to tint the frosting, or both.
Notes
Decoration notes: If you are adding a plastic baby, coin, dried bean or other fève, insert it through the bottom of the king cake after it's baked, or through the top and cover the hole with icing.
Make sure your guests know to be careful not to bite into or choke on this, and don't put them in cakes for small children, as it can be a choking hazard!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
