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–+ servings
angled shot of king cake on parchment paper with flowers, beads, decorative sugar in jars, and glass of milk

Homemade Mardi Gras King Cake

5 from 2 votes
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Proofing Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
Author: Traci Crossland
A Mardi Gras Tradition! This Homemade King Cake is soft, fluffy, perfectly sweet, and filled with the simplest three ingredient cinnamon sugar. It's simple, but oh so delicious and best enjoyed with your family and friends!

Ingredients

Pastry

  • 4 cups all purpose flour, divided
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon instant yeast
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • ½ cup salted butter
  • 1 large egg, room temperature

Filling

Icing

  • 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 3 Tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • purple, green, and yellow decorative sugars
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pastry and Filling

  • Spray a clean glass bowl with cooking spray. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 2 cups of the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
  • Heat milk and butter until butter is melted.
  • Cool to 120 degrees.
  • Add to flour mixture.
  • Mix until well combined, 1-2 minutes.
  • Change to dough hook, if using.
  • Add egg and remaining 2 cups flour.
  • Mix on low speed for 3-4 minutes.
  • Increase speed to medium.
  • Knead for another 5-6 minutes.
  • Turn into prepared bowl.
  • If proofing in proofing box with water tray, there is no need to cover. If proofing on the counter, cover with plastic wrap.
  • Let rise at warm room temperature (78 degrees F) until doubled in bulk 1-1/2 hours.
  • While dough is proofing, make filling by combining brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface.
  • Roll into 12"x18" rectangle that is 1/4" thick.
  • Brush with melted butter.
  • Top with brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.
  • Cut dough lengthwise into thirds.
  • Starting with a long side, roll each piece of dough into a rope.
  • Gather top ends together and press to seal.
  • Braid the strands.
  • Form into a circle.
  • Twist ends together to seal.
  • Place on sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
  • Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Let pastry rise at warm room temperature (78 degrees F) for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes until done (190 degrees), covering after the first 20 minutes to prevent over browning.

Icing

  • In a small bowl, beat together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
  • Spread on cooled king cake.
  • Immediately top with colored sugars.

Notes

  • Check your yeast and make sure it’s in-date.
  • If milk mixture does accidentally boil, don’t worry! It just takes longer to cool down this way. Just give it time to cool to 120-130 degrees before pouring it into the dry ingredients.
  • Use a bread proofer for best results with the raising of the dough.
  • If you aren't using a bread proofer for the dough, you will need to cover it with plastic wrap.
  • Braiding can be a little difficult! Use the step-by-step photos in the post above to help you through it.
  • The dough may not want to stick to itself toward the ends. This happens! You can use just a few drops of water to help really seal the ends and pinch them together.
  • You can use a plastic baby or a fava bean in this recipe. Just be sure to add it during the braiding process!
  • This recipe freezes well.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 422kcalCarbohydrates: 71gProtein: 6gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 219mgPotassium: 105mgFiber: 1gSugar: 38gVitamin A: 416IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 2mg

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.