This homemade king cake recipe yields TWO loaves and has two options for filling – one with cream cheese and one with cinnamon sugar!
Mardi Gras might officially be over, but that doesn’t mean you should stop celebrating! I was a bit late in making a king cake this year. My original intention was to have one for us to dig into on Fat Tuesday, but life got in the way. I was only 3-4 days behind schedule, so that counts for something, right?
In my haste to bake the king cake, I failed to fully read the recipe (PSA to all bakers out there: always, always, always read the recipe at least twice before attempting). It wasn’t until after I’d kneaded my dough that I realized that this recipe makes TWO loaves instead of one. Never fear though – I had a willing friend who was excited to try the king cake, so I gifted it the day after it was baked.
The process for making this cake is very similar to the makeup and assembly of a traditional cinnamon roll. We start with a yeasted dough, roll it out to a rectangle, add some filling, and then roll it up. Instead of slicing the roll into individual servings, we make a loose bread and shape that into a circle to bake.
The recipe below contains two options for your filling: one that is cream cheese based, and one with a cinnamon-sugar filling. Because I did not have cream cheese on hand, I opted for the cinnamon filling. Eva’s tip: Go with the cream cheese filling. The cinnamon filling, while good, yielded a king cake that had subtle flavors and a cake base that was a tad too dry. I wanted to love this recipe, but it was slightly above average for me. My family and I agreed that if the filling was made of cream cheese, it would have prevented the cake from drying out.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m still happy I baked this, but I need to be better prepared next time for the quantity of loaves baked, and the required ingredients. Don’t make the same mistakes I did!
Husband’s rating: 4 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 4 out of 5
Mardi Gras king cake
Ingredients
Dough (note that this yields TWO king cakes)
- 1 cup milk of choice
- ¼ cup (½ stick or 4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 1 and ½ teaspoons salt
- ⅔ cup warm water
- ½ cup granulated sugar divided
- 1 Tablespoons active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extact
- 5 to 5 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
Cinnamon sugar filling option (note that this is enough to fill TWO king cakes)
- ⅔ cup brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Cream cheese filling option (note that this is enough to fill TWO king cakes)
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons milk of choice
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the dough
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat the milk and butter on high for 60-90 seconds until warm. Add the salt, mix, and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl if you'll be kneading the dough by hand, add the warm water, 1 Tablespoon of the sugar, and the yeast. Let it rest until it becomes foamy, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the milk, butter, remaining sugar, eggs, vanilla, and 1 cup of the flour. Mix on low speed.
- Continue to add the flour, 1 cup at a time, until you've added 5 total cups. If needed, add the remaining ½ cup of flour. You want your dough to be tacky but not sticky. My dough was very sticky so I ended up adding a bit more flour at the very end.
- Stop the mixer and hand-knead your dough for about another 3-4 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl and cover the top with a wet towel. Allow the dough to rise and double in a warm area, about 2 hours.
- Once the dough has doubled, punch it down.
- On a lightly floured surface, divide the two into two equal portions.
- Take one portion and roll it out into a large rectangle, about 10" x 16". Keep the other portion of dough covered while you are working with this piece.
Make the filling (recommend waiting to make this after you've rolled out the dough)
- If you are making the cinnamon sugar filling, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter together into a medium sized bowl. Remember, this recipe makes enough to fill TWO cakes so if you're only filling one cake, you'll want to only use half of the mixture.
- If you are making the cream cheese filling, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, softened butter, and the vanilla in a medium sized bowl. You can mix this by hand or use a stand mixer or a handheld mixer. Remember, this recipe makes enough to fill TWO cakes so if you're only filling one cake, you'll want to only use half of the mixture.
Assemble the cake
- Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper and set aside.
- Take one of the rolled out dough rectangles and cut it in half, lengthwise (so you get two tall, skinny strips of dough) using a paring knife or pizza cutter.
- Spread the filling of your choice on top of the dough , leaving the perimeter of the dough untouched. If you're using the cinnamon-sugar filling, you may want to press the filling down into the dough so it doesn't fall out.
- Roll the dough up, lengthwise so you get a skinny rope. Repeat with the other piece of dough.
- Pinch the two dough ropes together at the top and twist them together. Pinch the ends together. Then take all of the ends together and bring them towards each other so you get one big circle or a loop. Pinch the loop shut.
- Place the circle of dough on top of your prepared baking pan. Repeat with the other portion of dough that you set aside earlier.
- Cover the cakes with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm spot for another 30-45 minutes.
Bake the cakes
- Preheat your oven to 350℉. Place your risen cakes into the oven (remember to remove the plastic wrap first!) and allow to bake in your preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Mine appeared golden brown when it was done and probably could have been done baking about 22-23 minutes in. I'd recommend checking for doneness at the 20 minute mark and adding more time as needed. The cake should read 190℉ if you insert a digital thermometer into the center.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.
Make the frosting
- In a measuring cup or a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, lemon juice, and the vanilla until it is lump-free. You want your frosting to be pourable, but not too runny.
- If desired, you can insert a plastic baby into the cakes.
- Pour the frosting over the cakes, using a spatula to even things out if needed.
- If you have colored sanding sugar, sprinkle it on top of the icing.
- Allow the icing to set before slicing and serving.