Depending on how you celebrate, I’m either a month late, a month early, or right on time with this king cake recipe…but we’ll discuss that later 😉 Either way, there’s really no wrong time to enjoy today’s recipe, and I’m really excited to be sharing this one with you today. My king cake recipe starts with a yeasted sweet bread dough that’s swirled with a ripple of cinnamon sugar. It bakes up beautifully and has a lovely, soft texture with the perfect amount of chew. In keeping with tradition, I top the finished cake with a white glaze and dust it with festive colored sugars. The end result is like a cross between a cinnamon roll and my star bread, and I truly can’t think of a better combination than that! If you’re curious about how cake gets its royal name or why it usually has a plastic baby baked inside–yes, you read that right!–keep reading below or read a more detailed history of king cake here. Everyone else, feel free to skip ahead so we can get to baking!
What Is the King Cake Tradition?
Let’s talk about the timing of this king cake recipe! Traditionally, king cake is served on January 6th, the 12th day after Christmas, which is also known as Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This day honors the three kings who brought gifts to baby Jesus. The colorful sugars that decorate a king cake represent the three kings’ gifts (more on that below), and the shape represents a king’s crown. For those who are wondering why I’m sharing this recipe now, almost a month after Three Kings Day, I have a good reason! King cake is also enjoyed throughout the Carnival season (the days between Epiphany and Lent–happening now!) as well as on Mardi Gras (also known as Fat Tuesday–coming soon!). As I mentioned, king cake typically has a plastic baby hidden inside the dough. The baby is a newer tradition from the 1950s (at that time people used porcelain babies) and is meant to symbolize baby Jesus. Whoever finds the baby in their slice of cake will receive some sort of reward or duty, depending on what you believe. I don’t personally feel comfortable baking a plastic baby inside my cake (or any plastics in my baked goods, for that matter), but I do include instructions if you wish to. I’ve also included instructions on how to add it after baking, too. And if you don’t already have a baby for your cake, don’t worry, because I’ve included a link in the recipe card so you can buy one.
What You Need
This king cake recipe does involve quite a few steps, but the ingredients are about as basic as you can get. Here are a few of the key players:
Milk. I prefer using whole milk, but any kind should work fine. Yeast. Use active dry yeast and make sure it’s fresh. If your yeast doesn’t foam after 5-10 minutes, you’ll need to start over.Granulated sugar. We’ll add just a pinch to feed our yeast, then use the remainder in our dough. Bread flour. Bread flour yields a chewier end result, but all-purpose flour will work in a pinch. As with most yeast doughs, you may need more or less flour than I call for; watch the video in the recipe card for visual cues and read the recipe notes before beginning for helpful tips.Butter. As with most of my recipes, I recommend you use unsalted butter. If you’d like to read more about my preference, read my post on using unsalted butter vs. salted butter. Egg + egg yolks. With the milk, sugar, and butter, you already know this is an enriched dough. I enrich it even further with eggs and an additional egg yolk. Brown sugar. We’ll combine brown sugar and cinnamon for a sweet, slightly spiced filling. I like dark brown sugar for some contrast, but you could use light brown. Spices. I like to flavor the bread lightly with cinnamon and nutmeg, which I think adds something extra special to the final cake. You can skip the nutmeg if you’re not a fan.Powdered sugar. For the super simple, foolproof glaze, we’ll combine powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Sanding sugar or sprinkles. You can’t have king cake without the colorful sprinkles! You’ll need purple, green, and either gold or yellow. Plastic baby. This is optional, of course. I don’t add one to my cake, but you certainly can add one to yours!
SAM’S TIP: There are many different ways to braid and twist your dough. I use a simple, attractive method that makes a wreath out of two ropes, but if you have a different technique, feel free to use it! Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make King Cake
SAM’S TIP: If you don’t feel comfortable baking the baby in your cake, you can always add it after baking and before glazing! Simply cut a small hole in the cake after it’s cooled (save the bread!), add your baby, then plug up the hole with the piece of king cake that you removed. When you cover your cake with the glaze, the hole will be hidden and the location of the baby will still be a surprise. Enjoy!
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Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
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