When it comes to Mardi Gras, nothing captures the spirit of the season quite like a king cake. This colorful, sweet bread is as much a centerpiece as it is a treat! It’s a tradition I LOVE. Unfortunately, good king cakes are hard to come by in our area, and making a trip to the coast during Mardi Gras season isn’t always feasible. That’s why I set out on a mission: to perfect a king cake I could bake at home!
For our neighborhood Mardi Gras ball, I bake a batch of king cakes to share with friends and neighbors, ensuring the festivities have that authentic touch. For Fat Tuesday, last year, I went all out, baking king cakes for the 150 teachers and staff at our school. It’s my way of spreading the joy of Mardi Gras! 
If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at baking a king cake, here’s a recipe, that while time-consuming, is easy to perfect at home. It’s soft, buttery, and full of flavor, with just the right texture to hold up to the iconic glaze and colorful sugar.
My King Cake Recipe
Here are the ingredients and Tools Recommended for my recipe
**Dough Ingredients:**
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup salted butter, melted and cooled to 125°F
- 2/3 cup warm water (100–120°F)
- 2 packets active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar (for proofing)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Approximately 5 cups of all-purpose flour
**Filling Ingredients:**
My personal favorite is a combination of cream cheese and cinnamon sugar, but there’s plenty of room to experiment. You can stick to just one of those fillings, mix in a fruit pie filling, or try a blend like half cream cheese and half strawberry pie filling for a delicious twist.
**Cream Cheese Filling**
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
**Cinnamon Sugar Filling**
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Glaze Ingredients:
- 2.5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 4 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Decorations:
-Purple, Green and Gold Sanding Sugar or homemade sanding sugar (see instructions below)
Tools Used:
- Stand Mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Silicone Mat
Making the Dough
-
**Prepare the yeast mixture:** In a small bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Let it sit for 10 minutes, until frothy and activated.
2. **Mix the wet ingredients:** In a stand mixer bowl, combine the cooled milk and melted butter with 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix well.
3. **Incorporate the flour:** Add 1 cup of flour to the wet mixture and stir until combined. Gradually add more flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing with a dough hook. You’ll need about 5 cups in total, but stop adding flour as soon as the dough comes together. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky—using too much flour will make it dense.
4. **Knead the dough:** Knead for 5 minutes using the stand mixer or 10 minutes by hand. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
5. **Let it rise:** Lightly oil a large glass bowl and place the dough inside, turning it over so the top is coated in oil. Cover with a clean towel and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
Prepare Filling
While your dough is rising, it’s the perfect time to prepare your filling. These instructions are for a cream cheese with cinnamon sugar filling, but feel free to experiment with your filling flavors!
**Cream Cheese Filling**
Using a stand mixer, combine the following ingredients:
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Blend until smooth and creamy. This rich filling is perfect on its own, combined with cinnamon sugar or paired with fruit pie filling for an extra burst of flavor.
**Cinnamon Sugar Filling**
In a food processor, add:
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Process until the mixture is fully combined and crumbly. This classic filling gives your king cake the warm, spiced sweetness everyone loves.
Assemble King Cake
After the dough has risen and doubled in size, punch it down and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out into a 12x16-inch rectangle. To achieve this shape, use a rolling pin, rolling from the center outward toward each corner. If the dough springs back as you roll, cover it with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 10 minutes before continuing.
Once the dough is rolled out, use a pizza cutter to slice it in half lengthwise, creating two smaller rectangles. Spread the filling onto each rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border along both short sides and one long side to ensure the dough will seal properly. For a classic combination, spread half of the cinnamon filling on one rectangle and half of the cream cheese filling on the other.
Starting with the long side that has filling to the edge, roll each rectangle tightly into a log. Once rolled, gently roll each log back and forth on the floured surface to slightly lengthen it.
Pinch one end of the two logs, then twist them together to form a braid. To do this, lift one log over the other repeatedly down the length of the dough until fully braided (about 7 twists).
For a large oval king cake (approximately 20 servings), shape the braided dough into a semi-oval on a silicone baking mat, leaving the ends loose.
Repeat the rolling, filling, and braiding process with the second half of the dough. Add the second braid to the mat, completing the oval, and pinch the ends together to seal.
If you prefer two smaller round king cakes (10 servings each), divide each half of the dough into two smaller rectangles before rolling and braiding. Form a circle with each braid, pinching the ends together to close the ring.
Cover the shaped dough with a clean kitchen towel or loosely with plastic wrap. Allow it to rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until it becomes puffy and slightly larger.
Prepare Homemade Sanding Sugar (if using) and Glaze
While your dough is rising for the second time, it’s the perfect moment to make your own sanding sugar in purple, green, and gold. While you can buy pre-made Purple, Green and Gold Sanding Sugar here on Amazon, making your own is super simple. You can find my easy instructions for homemade sanding sugar in my Softball Candy Kabob Tutorial HERE if you’re interested!
This is also a great time to prep your glaze.
Glaze Ingredients:
- 2.5 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the glaze, whisk together all of the ingredients until smooth. I mix mine in a 4 cup measuring cup for easy pouring!
Bake King Cake
Once your dough has risen for about an hour, preheat your oven to 350°F. After the second rise, remove the towel or plastic wrap and bake your cake in the preheated oven for 28-30 minutes. When it's done, let it cool to room temperature.
Though it’s delicious as is, tradition calls for a baby to be hidden inside the cake. Once it has cooled, gently press a small plastic baby into one of the folds. Then, drizzle the glaze over the cake and top it with your homemade purple, green, and gold sanding sugar.
Baking king cakes for our Mardi Gras celebrations has become one of my favorite ways to share joy with our community. It’s not just about the cake itself but the spirit of tradition and connection it represents. Whether it’s at the neighborhood party or in the teachers’ lounge on Fat Tuesday, these cakes bring people together—and isn’t that what Mardi Gras is all about?
So, if you’re up for the challenge, give this recipe a try. Who knows? You might just start a tradition of your own.
As many King Cakes as I have baked over the years, I shockingly had very few pictures of the cakes I had made! Thankfully, it's Mardi Gras Season, so I will be baking up some soon and will update with additional pictures ASAP!
*I personally purchased every product that was used to make this costume and nothing was provided to me.
**I have included affiliate links to the products I used and can receive a small commission if a purchase is made after you click on a link in this tutorial.
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