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King Cake

Photo Credit
Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock
Catherine Boeckmann
Yield
Makes 2 cakes, 10 to 12 servings each.
Category
Cakes and Frostings
Course
Desserts
Occasions
Easter Sunday
Preparation Method
Bake
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A King Cake is a frosted sweet bread—a delicious cross between a coffee cake and a French pastry—with a hidden bean or tiny plastic baby baked inside. It’s traditionally made for Twelfth Night as well as Mardi Gras season. See our recipe—and the story behind the King Cake.

What Are King Cakes?

Epiphany (January 6) is the traditional end of the Christmas season, but it also kicks off the Carnival season—which is a time to eat, drink, and be merry before the fasting of Lent. The last day of Carnival is Mardi Gras, which is French for “Fat Tuesday.” As Easter is a moveable feast date, the actual date of Mardi Gras also changes. But it’s always 46 days before Easter and the day prior to Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins.

In old English tradition, King Cakes were often served on the eve of Epiphany, popularly known as Twelfth Night, but today, it’s any time during the Carnival Season through midnight on Mardi Gras itself. (This is where the Twelve Days of Christmas comes from—counting from Christmas Eve.)

The “King Cake” takes its name from the three kings who visit the Christ child. The man or woman who finds the baby Jesus, bean, or trinket inside is the king or queen for the day. Whoever gets the King Cake baby is expected to buy the next cake for these get-togethers.

Janice Stillman, the former editor of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, lived in New Orleans for several years. Hence, she’s made several King Cakes! This recipe is her favorite—not too difficult, not too easy, and tastes great! As with most King Cakes, the dough is baked in the form of a ring with a sweet glaze. The icing is sprinkled with royal colors of purple, green, and yellow sugar. Purple represents justice, green is faith, and gold is power. 

If you’d like to bake your own, our traditional King Cake recipe is not difficult to make (despite the way it may appear), but it does involve several steps performed at approximately 2-hour intervals, so just plan to stay close to the kitchen throughout the process.

Find out the dates of Mardi Gras each year and more fun traditions!

See our recipe for a beautiful Epiphany Tart, a Victorian jam tart. 

sponge recipe

Ingredients
3/4 cup warm milk (105° to 115°F)
1/2 cup warm water (105° to 115°F)
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
  1. In a bowl, combine milk, water, and sugar. Sprinkle with yeast and stir to dissolve. Set aside for 5 minutes, or until foamy. 
  2. Sprinkle with flour, then, using an electric or stand mixer, beat until blended. 
  3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature for 2 hours, or until bubbly.

Dough Recipe

Ingredients
3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/4 cup sugar
zest of 2 oranges
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons orange–flavored brandy
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
2 cups chopped, candied dried fruit, divided
2 plastic babies or trinkets (optional)
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons melted butter, divided
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, orange zest, and salt. Add the sponge, eggs, almond extract, brandy, and butter pieces. Beat for 2 minutes, or until smooth. Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula until a soft dough forms that pulls away from the side of the bowl.
  2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 3 minutes, or until soft and springy. If necessary to prevent sticking, add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, but do not allow dough to become dry.
  3. Grease a large bowl. Place dough in the bowl and turn to coat it on all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
  4. Grease two baking sheets or line with parchment paper. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Separate into two equal balls. Return one ball to the bowl, and lightly cover it with plastic wrap. Pat and roll the remaining dough into a rectangle (about 11 by 17 inches). Sprinkle with 1 cup candied fruit. Place the plastic baby or trinket (if using) on the dough amid the candies. Starting with the side farthest from you, roll the dough toward you, capturing the candied fruit. Place on the lined baking sheet, forming a circle. Moisten fingers with water and pinch the ends together. 
  5. To help cake retain its hole in the middle, grease the exterior of a small, ovenproof pan or cup (without a handle) and place it in the center. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 2 hours, or until doubled in size. Repeat with remaining dough ball.
  6. Preheat oven to 375°F about 15 minutes before baking. Paint each dough ring with beaten egg yolks. Bake for 40 minutes, or until browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Brush each cake ring with 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Set aside and make the glaze.

Glaze and Sugar Recipes

Ingredients
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons sugar, divided
yellow, green, red, and blue food coloring
Instructions
  1. For glaze: In a bowl, combine butter, vanilla, and confections’ sugar. Beat to blend, adding milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth. For a thinner glaze, add more milk; for thicker glaze, add more confectioners’ sugar.
  2. For decorative sugar: Put 1 tablespoon sugar in each of three separate bowls. Working one bowl at a time, add 1 drop yellow food coloring to one bowl; add 1 drop green food coloring to one bowl; add 1 drop each red and blue food coloring to the remaining bowl. Using separate spoons, stir the sugar and food coloring until evenly mixed.
  3. Spread glaze on each cake ring. Sprinkle with yellow, green, and purple sugar separately, making several stripes of each color on the cakes.

 

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann
 

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Comments

Candy (not verified)

3 years 9 months ago

So, when do you add the "baby"?

Cynthia Stark (not verified)

10 months 2 weeks ago

I agree when to add the baby (gift) to the baking of the King Cake

Hi, Candy. You will see in the fourth paragraph in the dough instructions where/when to add the baby.

Rowan (not verified)

3 years 9 months ago

What do you do with the sponge? The way I'm reading this, you mix it up and set it aside and ... then what? The dough is well covered, but I have no idea what to do with the sponge.

Donna (not verified)

1 year 9 months ago

a large bowl combine 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, orange zest, and salt. Add the sponge, eggs, almond extract, brandy, and butter pieces. Beat for 2 minutes, or until smooth. Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula until soft dough that pulls away from the side of the bowl forms.

Hi, Rowan. You will see in the second sentence of directions for dough that you are going to add the sponge to it.

Lorrie (not verified)

6 years 9 months ago

I live in France. We have king cakes in France however they do not have this green, yellow and purple frosting. They are made with an almond filling in the center of them and are better tasting than a cake like this. They do offer a cake with dried fruit on with colors in green and red during this time too however it is not as good tasting as the one made with the almond filling. Only the ones made with almond filling have a small ceramic piece inside of them. They are not available in February. Only in January. My previous husband was Portuguese and they made a bread which was fried and rolled in powder sugar the day before Ash Wednesday and had no colors on it. I think each culture has their take on these traditions of cakes.

Gordon (not verified)

6 years 9 months ago

I was born in New Orleans sixty years ago and have never seen or heard of a King Cake like the one in this recipe! It sounds HORRIBLE!!! So wrong! Who made this up and why?

Hey, Gordon, Where y’at? I know what it means to miss New Orleans, having lived there for several years, in several neighborhoods, in the 1980s. Since leaving I had seen recipes for and made several king cakes; I can not recall where this recipe came from, but it was one of the best: good tasting and not as difficult as it might appear, being a yeast dough with lengthy instructions. It was meant to evoke the spirit of the season, not ignite a flambeau. Laissez les bon temps roulez, eh?