Throw Out Your King Cake Recipe

I have a great love of New Orleans and its food and so very year I make King Cakes around Mardi Gras. The King Cake in Louisiana is traditionally served during Carnival season beginning with the Epiphany and ending with Mardi Gras. There is usually a small plastic baby hidden somewhere in the cake and whoever gets the piece with the baby will have good luck...or has to bring the next King Cake.

Now, I'm not saying you don't need a recipe at all, I'm just saying don't feel trapped by it. Once you have the basic down, decide what sounds good to you and go for it! King Cake is really more of a sweet bread, like a cinnamon roll, but in recent times has been filled with different flavors like chocolate, strawberry and pralines and cream. I've been experimenting with this dessert for a while and I have decided this is the best recipe for the bread part. It is basic and totally customizable. I have added cinnamon and cloves to the bread if I'm doing a traditional recipe or if I'm adding a fruit filling.


2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/2 cup butter, melted
5 egg yolks
3 cups all-purpose white flour
1 cup wheat flour
2 teaspoons salt

     In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and white sugar in warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

     Stir the egg yolks and melted butter into the milk mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt. Beat the flour mixture into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.


Now we get to the fun part: the filling. I have tried lots of things. I have done peach, cream cheese, chocolate and traditional no filling. You can do anything and not a single one I tried turned out bad, but some were better than others. I think my all-time favorite is cinnamon caramel cream cheese.

To do that, I added a teaspoon of cloves and a tablespoon of cinnamon to the bread dough. I then took 8oz of softened cream cheese and mixed in a tablespoon of cinnamon, ½ cup of powdered sugar and ¼ cup of caramel sauce.


     Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out into a 6x30 inch rectangle. Spread your filling (if you have one) across the center of the dough. Bring the two long edges together and seal completely. Using your hands shape the dough into a long cylinder and place on a greased baking sheet, seam-side down. Shape the dough into a ring press the baby into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough. Place a well-greased 2 pound metal coffee can or an oven safe bowl in the center of the ring to maintain the shape during baking. Cover the ring with a towel and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

     Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove the coffee can and allow the bread to cool.

     When it's cool, drizzle with an icing mixture of 2 cups powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk. Then sprinkle with purple, green, and yellow colored sugar.


Want to add a flavor to the icing? Do it! A couple of drops of flavored extract like vanilla, lemon, raspberry or almond could be just the thing. Come up with the greatest combination ever? Let me know!

Happy baking and Happy Mardi Gras!