-
Makes
1 large twisted cake
Author Notes
How to explain a king cake to the uninitiated? Think of it as a giant cinnamon roll housing a tiny, plastic baby Jesus—stay with me—that’s twisted or braided into a circle, covered in icing, and liberally sprinkled with purple, green, and gold sugar.
This year, my second year away from the glittery hubbub, I decided it was time to make my own. I knew I wanted to stay in a traditional vein, but I wanted to experiment with putting cream cheese in the dough rather than as the filling.
As a nod to Galette des Rois (the traditional king cake of Northern France), I filled it with frangipane plus a dash of cocoa powder for a little oomph. And, because you can’t taste the cream cheese in the dough, I finished it with a cream cheese glaze. The result is rich and decadent, without smashing you over the head. —Kaitlin Bray
Test Kitchen Notes
Making a traditional king cake recipe is done all throughout the world to celebrate Epiphany, or "Three Kings Day." In the South, king cake is usually enjoyed during Mardi Gras. Considering it's more likely you'll be celebrating Mardi Gras at home rather than New Orleans, it's the perfect excuse to make king cake at home. Your friends and family will love this colorful, delicious dessert. You'll find so many different versions of king cake, depending on which country you're in and what family traditions and secrets have been shared throughout generations. This one requires a homemade dough, but the texture comes out perfectly due to the addition of cream cheese. Keep in mind that the dough does take about an hour and a half to rise, but you can make the filling during that time.
Also, don't be intimidated when forming the cake. Just a simple twisting motion, then bringing the two ends together to form a circle, is all it takes to get that classic shape. Purple, green, and gold colored sugars gives the cake that festive final touch. And of course, don't forget the baby! As Kaitlin Bray, who developed this recipe, says: "Feel free to use whatever filling is calling your name. A traditional cinnamon filling, or jam, or something more decadent (like bourbon pecan) would be quite at home in this dough. For melting plastic safety reasons, tuck the baby into the king cake after removing it from the oven. And the rules state: Whoever gets the baby is responsible for providing the next king cake." —The Editors
Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
- Dough:
-
1 1/2 teaspoons
(5 grams) active dry yeast
-
1/2 cup
(100 grams) plus ¼ teaspoon sugar, divided
-
1/2 cup
(8 tablespoons) unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
-
1/2 cup
(4 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
-
2
large egg yolks (save the whites for the egg wash)
-
1 cup
whole milk
-
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
-
4 1/2 cups
(500 grams) all-purpose flour
-
1 teaspoon
kosher salt
- Filling, Glaze & Assembly:
-
7 ounces
almond paste (1 tube)
-
1
large egg
-
3 tablespoons
all-purpose flour
-
2 teaspoons
cocoa powder
-
1/2 cup
(8 tablespoons) butter, room temperature, divided
-
1 1/2 cups
(171 grams) powdered sugar, divided
-
1/2 cup
(4 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
-
1/4 cup
milk
-
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
-
Purple, green, and gold colored sugars, for sprinkling
-
Plastic baby
Directions
- Dough:
-
In a small bowl, mix the yeast, ¼ teaspoon sugar, and ¼ cup warm (100°F to 110°F) water.
-
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cream cheese (the cream cheese won't fully melt, but that's okay). Remove from the heat and add the egg yolks, milk, vanilla, and yeast mixture.
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, salt, and remaining ½ cup of the sugar. Add the egg yolk mixture all at once and mix for about 5 minutes, until a smooth, elastic ball forms.
-
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise for 1½ hours.
- Filling, Glaze & Assembly:
-
In a medium bowl, mix the almond paste, egg, flour, cocoa powder, 4 tablespoons of the butter, and ½ cup of the powdered sugar until combined.
-
Once dough has risen, punch it down and divide into 2 equal pieces. Roll 1 piece of dough into a rectangle 18 to 20 inches long and 6 to 8 inches wide.
-
Spread with half of the filling and roll up (cinnamon roll-style), starting with the long end of the dough.
-
Repeat with the second piece of dough and the remaining filling. You'll have 2 rolled ropes of dough. Press and roll each dough out another 2 inches or so to even the thickness of the strands; close the seams.
-
Line the ropes of dough up and, starting from the center, make a basic twist until all the dough is twisted. Bring the beginning and end of the twist together to seal into a circle.
-
Place a rack in the center of the oven; heat to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the cake on top. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
-
Brush the cake lightly with the egg wash made from beating the remaining 2 egg whites. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should register 190°F). Let cool completely.
-
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed (or by. hand), beat the cream cheese, milk, vanilla, and remaining 4 tablespoons of the butter and 1 cup of the powdered sugar until well combined and smooth.
-
Spread the glaze over the cooled cake. Sprinkle with the purple, yellow, and green colored sugar. Hide the baby inside.
See what other Food52ers are saying.