King Cake is a glazed and sugared yeast bread ring that is a New Orleans tradition for Mardi Gras. This version is filled with sweetened cream cheese, which makes it look and taste like a giant cheese Danish. Serve this cake to revelers throughout the Carnival season and on Fat Tuesday. This recipe is adapted from King Arthur Baking.Please note that dry milk powder is a recipe ingredient. Not all home bakers keep this on hand, but it is wonderful in this recipe. The added protein and sugar from milk powder helps the structure and improves texture of yeast breads, which makes them rise well and have a tender crumb. It's also a browning agent.
Recipe by Heather Baird on February 10, 2020
Cook time: PT50M
Total time: PT170M
Rating
4.75 stars (4 reviews)
Keywords
bergamot oil, french sweet dough, king cake, mardi gras, sanding sugar
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter (melted)
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
2 eggs + 1 yolk (save egg white for later use in this recipe, at room temperature)
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or bergamot extract or Fiori di Sicilia)
8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 large egg (lightly beaten)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or bergamot extract, or Fiori di Sicilia)
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon bergamot extract
2-3 tablespoons milk or cream
Purple (green, and gold sanding sugars)
Categories
Dessert
Cuisine
Southern United States
Steps
Make the dough: Place all of the dough ingredients, in the order given, in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead the ingredients together until a soft, smooth dough forms. Coat a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl. Turn once to coat. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the bowl. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for about 1 hour. The dough will puff slightly but will not double in size.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Gently stretch the dough into a 24×6-inch rectangle. You won’t have to do much rolling here, just pat the shape out with floured hands. Allow to rest while you prepare the filling.
Make the filling: Place the cream cheese, sugar and flour in the bowl of an electric mixer. Cream together until smooth. Add the egg and extract. Mix again until combined.
Dot filling down the center of the dough. Fold one edge of the dough over the filling. Beat remaining egg white with 1 tablespoon water, and coat the edge with egg wash. Coat the unfolded edge of the dough with egg wash. Fold it over onto the dough so that they overlap. (See blog pictures for visual cues).
Place the long baton of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, stretching it slightly and forming it into an oval. Pinch the ends together; use egg wash to adhere.
Cover and let the loaf rise for about one hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F.
Brush the entire loaf with the egg wash. Bake the cake for 20 minutes, then tent with aluminum foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until fragrant and golden. Allow the cake to cool before frosting.
Make the glaze: Beat together the confectioners’ sugar, salt, extract, and milk in a large bowl. The mixture should be thick and pourable. Spoon the icing over the cooled cake and immediately cover with alternating sanding sugar colors.
Reviews
Belinda Hart on 2024-04-26 (4 stars): This is a good recipe for experienced bakers. Everything went well and it puffed up into a gigantic ring. The only problem was that the filling baked into the cake and disappeared leaving it very dry. Also the baking time was much longer than it should have been which added to the dryness. I’m making a pastry cream to fill it with.
