A Traditional King Cake is my favorite way to celebrate the Mardis Gras holiday. The soft and fluffy, yeast dough sets the perfect foundation for a sweet, smooth frosting. Decorated with an array of purple, green and gold sprinkles, it’s easy to understand why this cake is the best part of the celebration!
I’ve never been to New Orleans, but it is high up on my wish list of places to go. The community, the music, the food…from what I’ve heard, there’s no other place like it!
Aside from the Creole and the French Quarter, the first thing that comes to mind for most of us is that New Orleans is most well-known for Mardis Gras. The carnival lasts for days leading up to Ash Wednesday, and what better way to ring in Lent than with an amazingly, festive cake.
What is King Cake?
If you’ve never had King Cake, you need to GET. ON. IT. Since I live up north, it’s hard to get into the Mardis Gras spirit, however, I find I have a much easier time with this cake in front of me.
King Cake is ahhmazing. The dough, is super soft and pillowy; kind of like a cross between a coffee cake and pastry. King Cake is made from a yeast-based dough and is very light and airy.
Traditional King Cake (the version I made here) has a cinnamon swirl that runs through the layers. I’ve read is how it was made originally back in the day, although some others might be filled with fruit, cream cheese or pralines.
However, there are two characteristics that are always constant; the cake is braided into a circle and the top is covered with a thick glaze and traditional gold, purple & green sprinkles.
Why is there a baby in a King Cake?
Normally, you can find a small figurine hidden somewhere in the King Cake- usually, it’s a small plastic baby. Why? I did some research and there’s a lot of ambiguity around this tradition.
History says, whoever finds it can be ruler for the day, but I’ve also read that it simply means that it’s that person’s turn to buy the next cake. I didn’t add a baby into my cake here, but it’s definitely something fun to look into (FYI – it’s probably best to insert the figurine inside the cake AFTER baking, and be careful that the person who gets it doesn’t choke, that’s always my fear, hah!)
How to make a Traditional King Cake
The first time I tasted King Cake, I didn’t think it was something I could ever replicate at home, but I do have to say, it was pretty straightforward to make! For some reason, working with yeast always scares me.
This looks like a lot of steps, but as is most things that require a yeast dough.
First, you want to mix up the ingredients for the dough and need it. I think it’s easiest to use the dough hook attachment on the stand mixer, but you could do this by hand.
The dough is ready when it is soft, very elastic and nothing should stick to the sides of the bowl. 
Set the dough aside in an lightly greased bowl for about an hour.
Since the dough had time to rest, it should double in size. You can see HOW MUCH the dough filled out the bowl here. Once your dough has risen, divide the dough into two halves.
Roll each ball of dough into a large rectangle and spread the filling evenly.
Take the two logs and twist them together to form a ring. You can do this by laying one log down straight, on your surface and then gently lay over the other log, then the other to “twist” them together. 
I did my best to secure the two ends together, it doesn’t have to be perfect!!
Your dough ring should rise again for another 20 minutes before baking.
Here’s what the cake looks after baking and before icing! A nice golden brown around all sides.
As mentioned, the only trouble I had while making this cake was with the ends of the dough splitting apart after braiding them together…oh well. The important thing here is that the icing will drip down the sides to cover any imperfections, and that explosion of color will distract anyone from noticing.
I didn’t have gold, purple and green sprinkles on hand
If you find you’re out of stock and in a pinch, you can take plain ol’ granulated sugar and dye it the colors you need. Pour some sugar in a zip lock baggy and add the food coloring. Then, seal the bag, smoosh it and roll the sugar around until your desired shade is achieved.
Oh, and if you’re wondering what those colors represent! Purple is for justice, green is for faith, and gold represents power. Or simply put, yum, yum & yum. 
Traditional King Cake
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 16-ounce container sour cream
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4-ounce envelopes active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water 100° to 110°
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 6 to 6 1/2 cups bread flour*
For the Filling
- 1/3 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (optional)
Glaze
- 3 c powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp butter or cream cheese, softened
- 2-4 tbsp tablespoons milk
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp teaspoon vanilla extract
- Purple-green-, and gold-tinted sparkling sugar sprinkles
Instructions
- Add first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat & cool mixture to 100° to 110°.
- In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, stir together yeast, 1/2 cup warm water (105°-108°), and 1 tablespoon sugar and let stand for 5 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, add the sour cream mixture, yeast mixture, eggs, and 2 cups flour. Give a quick stir with a spatula and turn on at medium speed. As the ingredients start to come together, reduce speed to low, and gradually add the remaining flour (4 to 4 1/2 cups) until a soft dough forms.
- Once the dough forms, lower the speed and allow the dough to knead until smooth and elastic (up to 10 minutes). Place in a lightly greased bowl.
- Cover and let rise in a warm place (85° is ideal) for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- When ready, divide the dough in half. Roll each portion into a long rectangle. Spread the softened butter evenly on each rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle evenly over the butter on each dough rectangle.
- There are multiple ways to form the dough ring, I rolled up each dough rectangle, starting at the long side. Place one dough roll, seam side down, on a sheet lined with parchment. Do the same with the second roll. Pinch the tops together, and twist the dough logs over each other to give a braided look. Bring the other ends around together to form a ring, ensuring to make a good seal at the seam.
- Cover and let rise in a warm place again, 20 to 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until golden.
- After the cake is done baking, allow to cool most of the way. Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix the glaze ingredients until smooth & creamy.
- Pour glaze evenly over warm cake; sprinkle with colored sugars, alternating colors and forming bands. Let cool completely. Serve.
I’ve made this cake twice and it’s delicious. I did have to bake it considerably longer than the recipe states both times. Also, I doubled the filling recipe the second time so that each tube of dough got the full filling recipe. I definitely liked more cinnamon. I really enjoyed the addition of lemon juice to the glaze. Great, festive recipe!
Thank you so much for the comment and for sharing! I definitely have to try this with double filling. I’m so glad you liked the recipe!
Hi! And I made this cake last night and it came out lovely. I did cook it longer closer to 35 minutes. I took the internal temperature as another posted recommended. I’m wondering though if I did something wrong. It was pretty skimpy on the filling. Have you played around with amounts and flavors?? Thanks 🙂
Hey Brenda! Yes, I love that tip on taking the internal temp! Hmm, I haven’t played around with the filling and flavors but now you’ve sparked my interest! 🙂
I made this cake today! Very tasty, but a bit under-baked. I left mine in for nearly 30 minutes and still have found some pockets that weren’t quite cooked all the way through. It still tastes yummy though!
That’s definitely happened to me – this one is a little tricky to bake! Glad you liked it all the same! 🙂
Made this recipe today for my husband who is from Louisiana, he loved it. I however was a little disappointed that I didn’t bake it longer. It was not baked all the way through, next time I’ll bake longer or try and make the rounds thinner. Overall, very tasty.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Jennine! 🙂 I’m glad you liked the recipe!
I take the temp of my bread to be sure it’s done, 195-210 degrees.
That’s a great tip!!
This is such a great recipe! It turned out wonderfully, even though I botched the 2nd proof (room was too cold). Will definitely try again.
I’m so glad you liked it!! 🙂 hahah it’s hard during the winter months!
I’m going to make this tomorrow and I too live in a cold climate. I use my oven as a proofing box. I put 3 cups of boiling water in a loaf pan in the bottom of my cold oven and then put the dough (in its greased bowl covered with saran wrap) in the oven and close the door. this provides a warm, moist environment that the dough loves to proof in! I hope this helps!
Thanks for sharing this tip!! I would have never thought of that!
Hi! I’m from New Orleans but live in Virginia – this is the closest I can get to what I get at home – thank you! Oh also, it’s called a king cake bc you represent the three kings searching for baby jesus. Mardi Gras is a season that starts on Epiphany (three kings day on Jan 6th) and ends the day before Lent. Locally, little kids will get one on Fridays at school – whoever gets the baby to be special for a day – but also has to bring in the king cake the next week during Mardi Gras season.
Hi Cristina! Thank you for the kind words!! I’m so glad you love the recipe and thanks for sharing more history on this fun tradition!!
For the filling, can I use cream cheese? Would I replace butter with cream cheese or just add some?
Hey Kendra! I think it would be fine to use cream cheese, using it in exchange for the butter.
Hi, Liz! Do you live at sea-level? I grow up BELOW sea level, and now I’m in Denver for school. I have the hardest time baking up here. For example, this cake was in the oven FORTY minutes longer than what you call for in your recipe. There was nothing wrong with the rising process, everything went so smoothly until the end. Even then, it was still a little doughy! Nevertheless my roommate loves what I originally came up with. Thanks!!
Hey Audrey! Wow, yeah being in Denver will definitely make a difference! I believe my area is at about sea-level so I haven’t had to alter my baking at all. I’m glad you & your roomie still liked the recipe!! 🙂
How long is this shelf stable? Or does it need to be stored in fridge? And if so, how long can it be refrigerated?
Hi Hunter! This cake can be left on the counter for a few days (I would say 3-4, 5 is probably fine). Storing it in the fridge would extend the shelf life to 5-6 days, but it may dry out in the fridge. I did read online that you can also freeze it for up to 3 months!