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Celebrate Mardi Gras with this traditional Mardi Gras King Cake recipe! This is the recipe I’ve used for years and features cinnamon and sugar nestled between layers of sweet dough, a cream cheese filling and colorful topping.
It’s Mardi Gras season in New Orleans! The Mardi Gras season begins on Epiphany, a Christian holiday celebrated on January 6 that is otherwise known as Three Kings Day or the Twelfth Day of Christmas. So “Let the good times roll” by making this wonderful and festive King Cake.
Since we won’t be going back home this year for Mardi Gras, I’m bringing a little of the party into my own home with this decadent cream cheese filled King Cake.
On many different occasions, I’ve written of how much I have loved growing up and living in New Orleans. There isn’t a place in the world quite like the “Crescent City” and during Mardi Gras is perhaps the most exciting time of all to visit.
The Mardi Gras festivities are well underway with grand Mardi Gras Balls at night, parades with marching bands and floats rolling down the tree lined streets, and parade-goers putting their final touches on their Mardi Gras Day costumes. Fun times for sure!
What Is A King Cake?
In New Orleans, King Cake parties are held throughout the Mardi Gras season. A King Cake is similar to a cinnamon roll or a delicate coffee cake. It is usually iced or colored with the colors of Mardi Gras; purple, green, and gold.
Why Is There A Baby In The King Cake?
Usually hidden deep within the King Cake is a “baby”, often made of plastic which adds excitement, as each person who finds the baby is rewarded with “good luck” and is responsible for bringing the King Cake to the next party.
Since plastic “babies” are hard to find here in Texas, I use a large pecan. Pecans don’t usually evoke the same reaction when they’re found, but it’s fun nonetheless.
Since moving to Texas, I had been searching for a King Cake that tastes as good as they make them in New Orleans. I’ve come to the realization that if I want a traditional King Cake, I have to make it myself.
My favorite King Cake needs four things:
- It should resemble a delicate danish pastry.
- The tender dough should be slightly sweet with a hint of citrus.
- A King Cake is best when it’s filled and a cream cheese filling is a personal favorite of mine.
- A sweet, sugary icing decorated with the traditional colors of Mardi Gras; purple, green and gold is also a must.
Since I can’t find the perfect King Cake in our local bakeries, I’ve got to make my own.
My favorite King Cake comes from Haydel’s Bakery in New Orleans. Hands down, the best in the city.
My family would get several King Cakes from Haydel’s every year and when we saw them appear, we knew Mardi Gras was right around the corner. Haydel’s has been in business in New Orleans for years and is a New Orleans institution.
The recipe I use for my own King Cakes is a recipe I adapted from Haydel’s Bakery.
How To Make A King Cake
First, make the dough using a stand mixer.
Step 1
Blend the sugar, salt, and melted butter together.
Add in the flour, eggs, and the yeast which is dissolved in milk. Haydel’s recipe calls for butter, orange and lemon flavoring, but I like to add fresh orange and lemon zest instead.
Step 2
After making the dough, let it rest by covering the bowl and leaving it alone for 1-1/2 hours.
This is a perfect time to color the sugar with the food coloring.
After the dough rests and has almost doubled in size, take the dough out of the bowl, place it on a large surface and knead the dough for about 10 minutes.
Roll the dough out into an oblong shape, brush the dough with canola oil and sprinkle the entire top with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
Step 3
Once the dough is covered completely with the cinnamon-sugar, fold it in half lengthwise. It will be a very long piece of dough.
As you can see from my picture, the dough extends over my large cutting board.
Step 4
Cut the dough into 3 strips.
*(Also see notes below – updated February 2017)
Step 5
Braid the dough starting at one end and work your way down. Shape the dough into a circle and transfer it to a parchment lined baking sheet.
Step 6
Cover and let the dough rest again for about an hour until it has almost doubled in size.
Step 7
Make the cream cheese filling by combining cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest and milk.
Since the King Cake is braided, you really can’t “fill” it. Instead, pipe the filling directly on top of the dough and add a little extra in between the braids. This ensures you get the sweet cream cheese taste in every heavenly bite.
Step 8
Bake the King Cake in a 370 degree F oven for about 15 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and prepare a sweet glaze made of sifted powdered sugar and milk.
Drizzle the glaze over the top.
Step 9
Top with the colored sugar.
Step 10
Slice and serve.
Look at the layers of cinnamon and sugar in this slice of King Cake. Can you see the rich and creamy cream cheese filling (topping) poking out from the sides?
When the King Cake is baking, the filling “melts” into the cake so you get the sweet filling combined with the cinnamon sugar cake and the sweetened crunchy topping.
Notes: I’ve been making King Cakes for years and I use this recipe every single time. this year, I made a simple change to the “braiding” method and I think it makes it so much easier. Use either method you prefer. I provided photos below…
After the dough is rolled out into an oblong piece, brushed with oil and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, instead of folding the dough in half, just cut the dough into three strips. Next, roll each strip of dough just as you would roll a cinnamon roll. Braid as shown.
RELATED RECIPE: Mini King Cake Recipe
King Cake Recipe
Traditional Mardi Gras King Cake Recipe
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter , melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk (room temperature)
- 2 small packets of active dry yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
- 8 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar , sifted
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
GLAZE
- 1 cup powdered sugar , sifted
- 2 tablespoons milk
SUGAR TOPPING
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- a few drops of each: purple, green, and yellow food coloring
Instructions
- In an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar, salt and melted butter until well creamed.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition and continue to cream.
- Pour the milk into a small bowl and add the packets of yeast. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes until dissolved. Set aside.
- Add in the vanilla, orange zest and lemon zest to the mixing bowl and blend.
- Pour in the the milk and dissolved yeast and blend.
- Add the flour and mix on low until the dough tightens. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball and climbs slightly up the dough hook.
- Remove the dough from the bowl. Coat the dough with 1/2 cup of canola oil. Return the dough to the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Set in a warm, draft-free place, and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
- While the dough is resting, mix your colored sugars. Place 1 cup of granulated sugar in a ziplock bag. Add in 2-3 drops of food coloring. Close the bag and shake and caress the sugar until it is completely colored. Add more food coloring if necessary. Repeat this process with each of the colors, using a separate ziplock bag for each. Set aside to use later.
- After the dough has rested, turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead the dough for 10 minutes.
- Roll the dough out into an oblong piece.
- Brush the dough with canola oil covering the entire piece.
- In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar liberally over the entire piece of dough.
- Once the dough is covered with the cinnamon sugar and oil, fold it in half lengthwise.
- Cut the dough into 3 long strips and lay the strips side-by-side. Press the edges to seal. Now it’s time to braid the dough.
- (Braiding dough is just like braiding hair)
- Grab the center of the right strand and cross it over the middle strand, drop it in the center.
- Grab your left strand and cross it over the middle strand.
- Repeat these steps until you have braided your dough to the very end. Pinch the ends together and form a circle with the dough.
- Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Cover and allow the dough to rest again until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 370 degrees F.
- While the dough is resting again, make the filling.
- Cream together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk and lemon zest until smooth.
- Place the filling in a piping bag or scoop it into a large ziplock bag and cut off the corner tip of the bag.
- Pipe the filling directly on top of the dough. Only go around the circle once, you may have some filling left over.
- Place the king cake in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until the dough is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and make the glaze.
- Whisk together 1 cup of the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the milk. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the King Cake.
- Sprinkle the three colored sugars on top of the King Cake alternating the colors.
- Slice and serve.
*Recipe adapted from Haydel’s Bakery.
Making the Kings Cake right now! Such a great recipe! How do you get your purple sugar so purple? Mine turned out slightly gray! Glad I found this recipe’
how much is two “small” packets of active yeast?
There is approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast in each packet, so the total amount needed is 4 1/2 teaspoons.
Loved your recipe and your step by step photo instructions! I made this last night for an office meeting today and it was a huge hit! I’ve been intrigued in the steps and making sure the flavor was just right as I have had my share directly from NOLA. Thank you so much for sharing! I followed it step by step, down to the updated braiding technique you added. Heck of a process so anyone who gets one from me now better know it’s a labor of love to make!
Hi, thank you for the recipe! I have changed a few things and actually was able to put the cream cheese on the inside and it is amazing!
Literally….god bless you for sharing this recipe. 😂 my very pregnant self moved to Florida and can’t find king cake anywhere. This recipe is PERFECT! Thank you!!
And it works perfectly with gluten-free and dairy-free substitutions! I’m in love!!
I live in south Louisiana where King Cakes are plenty, but I recently eliminated gluten and dairy from my diet for health reasons. Although I have seen such a difference and would never go back, I’ve missed king cakes so much that I decided this year I would attempt to make my own! I found yours when I googled “danish king cake recipes” and decided it looked worth trying. I subbed almond milk for the regular milk, coconut oil for the butter, and used a 1-for-1 flour mix. It turned out delicious! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Filling: I actually did my king cake like a jelly roll, where I spread the cream cheese & strawberry jam filling on the large piece of dough and then rolled it up before forming the circle. It’s not the braided type you get from some bakeries, but it still works! 🙂
It looked like it rised pretty good, just nervous about how it will taste. The first time I tried this recipe it was delicious. This time I put the filling on the inside, and I use shortening instead of butter. Because the original recipe had shortening. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
I love this recipe for King Cake recipe since it remind me of the King Cake's I used used to get from Paul's bakery in Picayune, MS. I make 7 cakes last year using this recipe for friends and family and I am back again to make another batch for this season.
Like Joanie, I am from New Orleans and live in North Carolina where I can't find anything approaching the perfection of a Haydel's King Cake. I found the original Haydels recipe on line last year and tried it multiple times, encountering the same problem with the filling each time. I was frustrated as I found it almost impossible to braid the pastry with the cream cheese inside the dough. Braiding the pastry was very messy and didn't result in the concentration of cream cheese inside the pastry of a genuine Haydel's king cake.
I was VERY excited to find Joanie's adaptation with her wonderful photos which do a great job of illustrating the process and the look of the finished product. Joanie's approach of putting the cream cheese filling ON TOP of the pastry also seemed to solve the difficulty I had encountered in braiding the pastry with the original recipe. Unfortunately, after 4 attempts, putting the cream cheese filling on top proves to be a big disappointment. As the cake cooks, the "filling" melts off of the pastry onto the baking pan, creating a caramelized puddle surrounding the cake, leaving no discernible cream cheese on the pastry itself.
If you want an unfilled King Cake (actually a more authentic version of a King Cake as fillings didn't become common until the late '70s), Joanie's adaptation will give you great results- the right texture, taste and look of the finished product. But if you're looking for a cream cheese filled king cake experience, with the flavor and moistness that cream cheese adds, this recipe doesn't work. For those who might want to use plastic "babies" found in King Cakes in New Orleans, they are available from several vendors on Amazon, although using a pecan as Joanie suggests is actually a very authentic way to represent the "baby" in a king cake.
Hi Suzanne,
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I'm sorry your King Cake didn't turn out as you had hoped it would. I make King Cakes every year to give to friends and to send to my kids who live in other states and I always have success with mine. I pipe the cream cheese filling directly on top of the braided dough. It has never melted off the King Cake as you have described and I'm puzzled as to why that happened with yours. As shown in the pictures, the cream cheese "bakes" along with the dough. Also, you can see that my King Cake is thick. During the second rise (which takes about an hour or so), the King Cake should double in size. Perhaps that rise didn't happen with yours – when the dough does rise, I have plenty of room to pipe the cream cheese filling so there shouldn't be much or any that would melt off.
Best,
Joanie
Your king’s cake looks mouth watering and authentic! I am curious if you have ever refrigerated the braided bread overnight for the second rise?
Thank you, Shelly. I’ve never refrigerated the braided king cake dough overnight, I usually make the king cake in one day. I have refrigerated other dough such as pizza dough and dough for loaves of bread overnight and had great results.
I have a question for you, being a native of New Orleans. I lived there from 1985-1988 when my dad was stationed there for the Marine Corps. I don’t remember King Cakes being filled with anything other than cinnamon/sugar. Are the other fillings a more recent addition to the King Cake, or am I just not remembering? I’ve been looking at recipes for two days now trying to find an “authentic” recipe that matches what I remember. Other than the filling, this is exactly what I remember! 🙂
Hi Brooke, when I was little (back in the 70’s) I don’t remember King Cakes being filled. They were more of a bread dough type with the colored sugar on top. I do remember eating filled King Cakes sometime in the 80’s, when I was in high school. Cream cheese as a filling for King Cakes is very popular as well as jelly filled King Cakes. Personally, cream cheese filled has always been my favorite.
I have an irrational fear that baking a traditional king cake won’t live up to the ones we have shipped from Louisiana each year. This recipe totally makes me want to leave my comfort zone of ‘king cake inspired’ creations and finally give it a try!
I know what you mean, I felt the same way. I hope you decide to give it a try though. I’ll be making a couple today to take to a SuperBowl party we’re going to.
I am totally intimidated by King Cake and I think you did an amazing job! Every year I think I am going to try and every year I chicken out lol!
You know Laura, I felt the exact same way. Last year was the year that I resolved to attempt the recipes that intimidated me and a King Cake was one of those recipes. It was surprisingly easy to make, time consuming but not difficult at all. I felt that even if it didn’t turn out pretty, it would still taste good. 🙂
I’m so glad to have a recipe that is endorsed by someone who should know that it is authentic!! I’m definitely giving it a try.
I hope you do get to try it Karen. Growing up we had King Cakes throughout the entire Mardi Gras season, it’s such a fun dessert tradition.
I’ve visited New Orleans but never had the famous King Cake. Now, even though I’d love to go back, I can have King Cake without getting on a plane. Your step-by-step instructions are great. Doesn’t look too difficult and the results look amazing. Happy Mardi Gras!
Thank you Laura. King Cakes aren’t hard to make, they take a little time but so worth it.
You know, I’ve never made a king cake! I really need to … this is beautiful!
Thank you Marye!
Oh baby, let the good times roll! Nice King Cake.
I’ve never seen anything like this before. Very cool 🙂
Thanks, Rachel. It was fun to make!
Holy wow, this looks perfect! I bet it’s better than a bakery! I grew up in Biloxi/Ocean Springs, and my birthday is pretty close to Mardi Gras. I had blueberry cream cheese filled king cakes for most of my birthday cakes! I miss them and might have to try to make my own. Thanks for the recipe. Pinned!
Andi, a birthday so close to Mardi Gras, did you feel like everyone was celebrating with you? That must have been fun! I know Biloxi well. On our last visit home, we visited Biloxi and Gulfport and I was happy to see the city looking so good. It’s great to see all the growth and rebuilding after Katrina. Glad you liked the recipe. Have a great weekend!
Hi Joanie
Wow, this looks delicious. I looked at some of your recipes and they ALL look delicious. I’m so glad I found your blog. I’m your newest follower via Pinterest, Twitter and G+. I’m visiting from SITS. I will definitely be visiting you for more recipes, lol.
Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful weekend,
Angel
Angel, thank you so much! One of the wonderful things I love about the SITS group is that I’m finding so many blogs I may not have found on my own and yours is one of them too. Thanks for following and I’m doing the same.
This looks amazing! I’ve seen and had King’s Cake in French class, but it could hardly compare to this! I love all the color!
Thanks Kayla! I love the colors too!
Looks delish!
Thank you, it truly is 😉
Does it need to be refrigerated ?
Hi Michelle,
Your King Cake will be fine in a cool spot in your kitchen for a day. If you plan on serving it later, keep it in the refrigerator.