Enjoy this delicious homemade Mardi Gras King Cake this year and let the good times roll! Made with a sweet brioche dough and a cinnamon or cream cheese filling, this is the best king cake recipe and 1,000x better than anything you’ll find in a grocery store or bakery!
Table of Contents
I have been wanting to make a King Cake for ages but didn’t get to it when I was sharing Louisiana-inspired recipes for my American Eats series, where I visit some of the most iconic foods from each state, one state at a time. You don’t have to be in New Orleans to enjoy a colorful classic King Cake when you can make it at home from scratch as easily as making a batch of cinnamon rolls!
We loved this delicious treat and will be making many more King Cakes in the future. The cinnamon sugar-filled version is traditional, but the cream cheese-filled option is our personal favorite. Luckily, the recipe is big enough that it actually makes TWO King Cakes, so you can have one of each!
It might seem like a lot, but it’s the same amount as a batch of cinnamon rolls, which I used as the basis for my version of a Mardi Gras King Cake. The dough gets twisted or braided into a crown-shaped circle, then frosted with a delicious icing and topped with green, purple, and gold sugar.
Celebrating Mardi Gras and wanting a taste of the Big Easy that you can make at home? Try our Instant Pot Red Beans & Rice, Cajun Pasta with Sausage and Peppers, or Beignets next!
What is King Cake?
If you have never had King Cake before, you can think of it as a cross between a Danish pastry and a giant cinnamon roll shaped like a wreath and covered with colored sugar sprinkles. Except that it can actually be unfilled, or filled with any number of other filling options, like cream cheese filling, fruit filling, almond paste, or chopped nuts.
The cake is shaped like a crown to symbolize the three kings or wise men who visited Christ after his birth. The colors are symbolic too and represent faith (green), justice (purple), and power or prosperity (yellow or gold).
One fun and quirky thing about king cake is the tradition of the tiny baby figurine hidden inside, which symbolizes prosperity and luck. Whoever ends up with the slice with the baby is said to be King or Queen for the day! Our kids were way into this idea and agonized over which slice of King Cake they were going to take in hopes of being the winner.
The lucky one who finds the baby is also supposed to provide the King Cake the following year. Just be careful if you are the one slicing the king cake, because if you slice the baby it’s considered bad luck!
I love making symbolic holiday breads not only because they are delicious and fun, but it’s a great way to talk to my kids about traditions and symbolism. Hot Cross Buns, Resurrection Rolls, and Christmas Star Bread are some of our other favorites!
You can enjoy a King Cake anytime during Carnival season from January 6th up until Fat Tuesday, but really you can make it any time during the year and just switch up the colors for whatever event you are celebrating!
Why this Recipe Works
- The dough can be made a day ahead and refrigerated overnight so you can bake it fresh on the day you want to serve it.
- You can easily customize the flavor of your cake by changing up the filling.
- This King Cake recipe always turns out super soft and tender. Nobody wants to eat dry King Cake!
Ingredient Notes
- Colored sugar or sprinkles: For the traditional King Cake look, you need to have green, purple, and yellow or gold sanding sugar or sprinkles to cover the cake.
- Flour: I tested this recipe using regular all-purpose flour which resulted in a chewy and soft bake.
- Butter: This is an enriched dough that is made with butter for a rich flavor and texture. I use salted butter in all of my baking, but you can use unsalted and just increase the salt by ¼ teaspoon.
- Sugar: Because this is a sweet brioche bread dough, there is granulated sugar in the bread itself. You will also need powdered sugar for the icing that goes on top, and brown sugar if you choose to do the cinnamon filling.
- Plastic baby: Technically this isn’t really an ingredient since you don’t eat it, but if you want to order one they are available on Amazon (<–affiliate link), although you will end up with way more babies than you need. But they are fun for baby showers, and you might need more babies for next year’s cakes, so I just keep mine in our drawer with the birthday candles.
How to Make This Recipe
This recipe takes about 4 hours, start to finish, but most of that is rising time.
Start out by heating milk and butter in the microwave and setting it aside to cool slightly so it doesn’t kill the yeast when you add it later.
In a large mixing bowl, proof the yeast for the sweet brioche dough by combining it with warm water and a little sugar. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy. If your yeast doesn’t foam or get frothy and bubbly looking, it probably means the yeast is old and you should throw it out and start over with fresh yeast.
Once the yeast is bubbly, add the warm milk and butter mixture along with the sugar, beaten eggs, vanilla, and salt. Add 2 cups of the flour and mix well.
Continue adding flour, 1 cup at a time, until you have added 5 full cups total and a sticky soft dough has formed. I like to use the dough hook attachment and let my KitchenAid mixer do most of the work, but this can also be done by hand.
Knead on medium speed for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and starting to clean the sides of the bowl, or by hand for 8-10 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add the remaining flour, but keep in mind that the dough should be very soft.
I always like to scrape out the dough onto a lightly floured surface right at the end and do a few final kneads by hand to shape the dough into a smooth ball and get a feel for the dough and whether it needs more flour.
Add a drizzle of oil to the bowl and return the ball of dough to the bowl, turning to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours. Because this is an enriched dough, it takes longer to rise than some other yeast doughs you might be familiar with. I gave mine a full 2 hours since my house was chilly.
Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Divide in half and set one half of the dough to the side for your second King Cake.
Make the cinnamon sugar filling by combining sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a bowl with the melted butter. Stir until combined into a crumbly filling.
If you are using the cream cheese filling, beat the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.
Both filling recipes are easy to cut in half so you can fill each of your King Cakes with a different filling flavor.
Roll out into a large rectangle that is roughly 10″x16″ and cut in half lengthwise with a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Another popular approach is to cut the dough into thirds for a 3-strand braid, but after trying both approaches I liked the look and easy of the 2-strand twist best myself.
Crumble and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar filling evenly over each section of dough.
Roll up each section of dough from the long edges, pinching the dough together to secure the filling inside as best you can.
With the two lengths of dough side by side, twist one over the other, repeating the motion to form a rope. Transfer the twisted dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and shape it into an oval, pinching the ends together.
Repeat with the other half of the dough and filling. Cover both trays loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 30-45 minutes until puffy.
Bake for 25-28 minutes until golden brown on top. I like using a digital thermometer to probe the center of my loaf in a few places to make sure the internal temperature is between 190° and 195°F to know if the cake (bread?) is done.
I also found that the cake made with the cream cheese filling took a minute or two longer to bake than the cinnamon one.
Remove from the oven and let the cake cool completely before frosting. This is a good time to stick your plastic baby figurine into one of the folds of the cake to hide it.
Once the cake has cooled, make the frosting by beating powdered sugar, milk, butter, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth and pourable, but still thick.
Drizzle the frosting over the cooled cake, spreading it out with a spatula for even coverage, then immediately sprinkle with the colored sugars before the frosting has a chance to set.
That’s it! Now slice the cakes and see who gets the baby!
While we think of this as primarily a dessert, some people enjoy it as a sweet breakfast bread or coffee cake. The choice is yours!
Recipe FAQ’s
The Carnival season begins on January 6th every year, which is Twelfth Night or the Feast of the Epiphany, marking the end of the 12 days of Christmas. Mardi Gras is the culminating event on Fat Tuesday, and it marks the end of the season of Carnival. It’s always 47 days before Easter and the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the start of Lent, a 6-week period of fasting leading up to the Easter holiday. During Mardi Gras in New Orleans, there are parades, masked balls, parties, and just general merry-making by pretty much the entire city.
This tradition was part of the Catholic celebration of the Epiphany and was brought over from France in the 1800’s to Louisiana, where it became part of their Mardi Gras festivities.
Theoretically yes, most of these toy babies are made to be baked into the King Cake, but I worry about that and find it’s not hard to just push it down into the folds of one of the braids before covering the cake with the icing. And to be honest, I forgot on my second one and decorated the whole cake before remembering so I stuck it down in through the frosting, then covered it up with more sprinkles and nobody could tell.
If you have a hard time finding the colored sugar, you can always order it online or make your own! All it takes is a few drops of food coloring and ½ cup of granulated sugar in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Just combine them in the jar and shake well until the sugar is evenly dyed. But I usually have no trouble finding my colored sugar at craft stores though like Joann’s, Michael’s, or Hobby Lobby.
The biggest problem people seem to have when working with a brioche dough like this is the dough being sticky. The dough should be very soft and yes, it is slightly more on the sticky side than other doughs, but after kneading and rising, the dough should still be workable. Just dust your hands and surface with a little flour as needed to prevent it from sticking and use your judgment adding additional flour only as necessary.
Recipe Tips
- Storage: King Cake is best served fresh the day it is made, but it will keep for 2-3 days on the counter at room temperature or up to 1 week in the fridge. Store it covered in an airtight container or with plastic wrap.
- Freezing: You can freeze a finished King Cake for up 2-3 months. Wrap it well with plastic wrap to protect it and keep it stored in an airtight container. Let it thaw on the counter for 2-3 hours before serving.
- Helpful tools: Use a pizza cutter to easily cut the dough in half. This can also be made without braiding by just rolling up one half of the dough as one thick log. You will also need a rolling pin (affiliate link) for rolling out the dough.
- Instant Yeast: If using instant yeast, the recipe stays the same, but the steps are slightly different. Add the instant yeast to your mixing bowl with 3 cups of the flour and the sugar first. Stir together, then add the warm milk, water, melted butter, beaten eggs, vanilla, and salt, mixing with the paddle attachment until smooth. Then switch to the dough hook and add the remaining flour, proceeding as normal with the kneading until you have a soft, smooth dough. Let the dough rise for 1 hour in the fridge instead of the 1-2 hours on the counter until doubled in size.
- Refrigerating the dough overnight: If you want to make your king cake in advance, but bake it fresh the day of, you can refrigerate the dough overnight instead of letting it rise on the counter. Then on the day you want to bake it, let it come to room temperature for an hour or two in the morning before rolling out and shaping like normal.
- Easy clean-up: It’s common for some of the filling to leak out while baking, so be sure to line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats.
As they say in New Orleans, laissez le bon temps rouler! Let the good times roll!
More Mardi Gras Recipes
- Shrimp Po Boy Sandwich
- New Orleans-Style Cajun Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
- Instant Pot Red Beans & Rice
- One Pot Creole-Style Jambalaya
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
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Mardi Gras King Cake
Equipment
- baking sheets
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar divided
- 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 to 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled (705g to 776g)
Full Batch Cinnamon Filling Option
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (68g)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons salted butter melted
Full Batch Cream Cheese Filling Option
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Dough
- Heat milk and butter for 60-90 seconds in a microwave safe bowl. Add the salt, then set aside to cool until just warm (about 120° to 130°F).1 cup milk, ¼ cup salted butter, 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl, combine the warm water, about 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the yeast. Stir, then let it sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast is foamy.2/3 cup warm water, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
- Once the yeast is foamy, add the milk and butter, the remaining sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and 1 cup of the flour. Mix well, then continue adding flour while kneading with the dough hook attachment, 1 cup at a time. Only add the additional ½ cup of flour if the dough is really sticky.* Knead for 5 minutes on medium speed or 8-10 minutes by hand to create a very soft dough that starts coming away from the sides of the bowl.2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 5 to 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead a few times by hand until a smooth, round ball forms. Clean and lightly oil the bowl, then return the dough to the bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
Filling
- For the cinnamon filling, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter, mixing to combine. Set aside. Only use half of the amounts if you are only filling one king cake with this filling.2/3 cup brown sugar, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 4 tablespoons salted butter
- For the cream cheese filling, combine the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, softened butter, and vanilla in a bowl. Beat well until smooth. Set aside. Only use half of the amounts if you are only filling one king cake with this filling.8 ounces cream cheese, 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons salted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assembly
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and divide in half. (Remember, this recipe makes TWO king cakes). Roll out one half of the dough into a large rectangle on a lightly floured surface, roughly 10×16-inches. Use a pizza cutter to divide the dough in half lengthwise to create two long rectangles.
- Crumble the cinnamon filling or spread cream cheese filling evenly over the dough and roll up into two long cylinders, just like when making cinnamon rolls. Twist the two logs together into a rope braid, then transfer to the prepared baking sheet, shaping into an oval and pinching the ends together. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 30-45 minutes until puffy.
- Preheat oven to 350°F while the king cake is rising. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and baked through. The cake should be done when it reaches 190° to 195°F on a digital thermometer inserted into the center of each loaf. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- Beat the powdered sugar, milk, butter, lemon juice, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. The frosting should be pourable but thick.2 cups powdered sugar, 3 Tablespoons milk, 1 Tablespoon salted butter, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Stick a plastic baby figurine into each cake, pushing it down in to hide it. Drizzle the frosting over both king cakes, spreading it with a spatula if needed for good coverage. Sprinkle with the purple, green, and gold sugar while the frosting is still wet before it has a chance to set.
- Slice and serve. Whoever gets the slice with the baby gets to be king or queen for the day!
Notes
- *If the dough is too sticky: Some readers have indicated that they needed up to 1 full cup of additional flour to get a workable dough because their dough was too sticky. You want it to be as soft as possible for a light, soft dough, but obviously make a judgment call if you feel like you need to add extra flour.
- Storage: King Cake is best served fresh the day it is made, but it will keep for 2-3 days on the counter at room temperature or up to 1 week in the fridge. Store it covered in an airtight container or with plastic wrap.
- Freezing: You can freeze a finished King Cake for up 2-3 months. Wrap it well with plastic wrap to protect it and keep it stored in an airtight container. Let it thaw on the counter for 2-3 hours before serving.
- Helpful tools: Use a pizza cutter to easily cut the dough in half. This can also be made without braiding by just rolling up one half of the dough as one thick log. You will also need a rolling pin for rolling out the dough and parchment paper for lining the baking sheets.
- Instant Yeast: If using instant yeast, the recipe stays the same, but the steps are slightly different. Add the instant yeast to your mixing bowl with 3 cups of the flour and the sugar first. Stir together, then add the warm milk, water, melted butter, beaten eggs, vanilla, and salt, mixing with the paddle attachment until smooth. Then switch to the dough hook and add the remaining flour, proceeding as normal with the kneading until you have a soft, smooth dough. Let the dough rise for 1 hour in the fridge instead of the 1-2 hours on the counter until doubled in size.
- Refrigerating the dough overnight: If you want to make your king cake in advance, but bake it fresh the day of, you can refrigerate the dough overnight instead of letting it rise on the counter. Then on the day you want to bake it, let it come to room temperature for an hour or two in the morning before rolling out and shaping like normal.
- More filling ideas: Use the cream cheese filling with a can of strawberry, cherry, or blueberry pie filling. Or try filling with apple pie filling, german chocolate cake frosting, or whatever else you can think of!
- Colored sugar: If you have a hard time finding the colored sugar, you can always order it online or make your own! All it takes is a few drops of food coloring and ½ cup of granulated sugar in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Just combine them in the jar and shake well until the sugar is evenly dyed. But I usually have no trouble finding my colored sugar at craft stores though like Joann’s, Michael’s, or Hobby Lobby.
Nutrition
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Thank you so much for sharing this amazing king cake recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
So pretty! I love all of the colors! Definitely fitting for Mardi Gras! Will have to give this recipe a try soon!
I made this over the weekend & it was amazing!!! And really quite easy (and I’m not used to working with yeast). It tastes like a cross between a cinnamon roll & a donut. Delish!!!
I love this – so colorful and looks scrumptious. Will be making for my family next week.
I would love to know how it turns out for you!
I think you need to make it a lot more clear at the outset that this recipe is for TWO cakes.
That’s what I was just wondering after seeing the filling is for 2! So I should use half of ingredients for one??
I made the cake with half cinnamon brown sugar and the other half with a cream cheese filling and then twisted it. where di my cream cheese go? any ideas?
I have lived in New Orleans twice.and have plenty of king cakes. I make one every year and I have tried all kins of recipes. Yours looks great. I know it is a long way off but will be making it in Feb 2023. I will let you know how it is. I will be in Mrytle Beach celebrating with beads and mask.
Just a short note to let you know.
I made this cake for my kids who spent 5 years living in New Orleans and my son in law said “it tastes like home.” Score! It was fun and easy. I let the dough rise its first rising overnight in the fridge. Hint, you don’t have to use plastic wrap on the dough while it rises. A damp cotton cloth will also work. Just put a heavy plate on top of the bowl and the damp cloth if you let me t rise in the fridge overnight.
I’m so glad it reminded you of home!
We loved this! I made it as a trial for my family before Mardi Gras and it was devoured, so glad I froze one for later!! And I will be making again for a Mardi Gras party we’ve been invited too!
Wow! This sounds great & completely do-able. I’m making my own King Cake this year! Thank you.
I have never seen a King Cake recipe withe the cream cheese filling before, but I’m here for it! So so good!
Thank you! Yes it was a little bit of an experiment but everyone loved it so much that it was a clear winner! So good!
The ingredients listed for the dough includes vanilla extract.
No where in the instructions say when to add the vanilla, therefore I did not add the vanilla.
Is there no vanilla in the dough or do the ingredients (and/or) instructions need to be edited?
Sorry for any confusion! It’s mentioned in the post but I must have missed it when writing out the recipe instructions. The vanilla in the dough goes in with the eggs and remaining sugar. I’ve updated the instructions to include it.
Hi! I loved this recipe. However, your instructions are very unclear and I feel as if some steps may be missed? Your pictures are very helpful; however, when I made this recipe, I made on huge king cake. It was until I read the whole blog that I realized this recipe can make two. I think it would be very helpful to clarify that in the beginning so the baker can be aware! I was also confused when I got to the filling step due to it having both options. I have never made a king cake before, so i was unsure if i was supposed to do two different fillings for one cake. But I appreciate you taking the time to post this! It ended up turning out delicious. I ended up combining the cream cheese and cinnamon filling and adding pecans
Thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate it and edited the recipe card to mention a couple of times that this makes two regular sized king cakes rather than just one.
I made this recipe today, and I was blown away by how perfect it is. I’m a Louisiana native living in Colorado, and it was wonderful to be able to make a little bit of home and have it taste like I got it from the local bakery. I did one cinnamon-filled cake and one cream cheese-filled cake, and I found that halving the cinnamon filling recipe still left me with extra, even when I added some to the cream cheese (which I recommend, it was delicious!). Not a big deal, just a note for anyone doing the same half-and-half split.
I also colored my own sugar, and discovered that the best way to make it is to add gel food coloring to the sugar and mash it around in a container with the back of a spoon until it’s thoroughly mixed. And again, I had some left over; 1/8 cup of sugar for each color should be enough to cover two cakes.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’m sure I’ll be returning to it next King Cake season.
Thank you for such a great review! I’m so glad you loved it and to have the stamp of approval from a native of Louisiana! Thanks for the tips about coloring your own sugar too!
This is the best yeast based recipe I’ve ever made. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. I wasn’t prepared for the yield to be two cakes but it was a happy surprise. As another reviewer mentioned, this tastes like a cinnamon roll donut. It’s so good. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for your review, Heidi! I’ve had a couple people mention that they didn’t realize it make two king cakes so I updated the recipe card to try to make that more clear. I really appreciate the feedback!
If I were to use a boston/bavarian cream filling-would I put it in first or inject it after baked? Prob a dumb question….thanks! Plan on making it this weekend…
I wouldn’t bake boston or bavarian cream filling. You could probably bake pastry cream though!
Thank you! I made pastry cream and just decided to put it in after to be safe -to see how it went the first time! Thank you so much!!
I haven’t made this yet but need to make it for a large group for a Mardi Gras party. I see that it makes 2 cakes. Does each cake serve 20 or each batch of 2 cakes?
Out of the recipes, yours looked the best.
Each cake serves 8-10 (depending on how you cut it). So the full recipe serves 16-20.
Thank you
This is it! I’ve tried multiple recipes in the best and none really tasted like the king cakes I grew up eating when I lived near New Orleans. But this one, every thing about it tastes like the real deal. I combined the fillings because I like cinnamon cream cheese and turned out delicious. Thank you for this recipe!
I’m so glad it brought back memories!
Easy to follow instructions and authentic looking and tasting results. I did one cinnamon and one Nutella.
I have tried many King’s Cake recipes over the years and this might be my favorite!
Followed the recipe to the T and even after 10 minutes of mixing in my stand mixer, the dough was wet and sticky as all get out. I added over 6 cups of flour. Something is off on your measurements. Use grams, not volume, next time.
I had the same issue when I made the recipe but I weighed everything. I had to add a bunch of extra flour to tame the wildly sticky dough. I’m not sure what happened.
I had the same problem. The dough is extremely soft and dense. I stopped adding flour at 6.5 C, but I probably should have added more. Trying to work with it once I put the filling in was really difficult. I hope it holds up when I bake it. It’s still trying to rise.
5 1/2 cups of all purpose flour is 765g. Like I said earlier, your measurements were off.
5 1/2 cups of Flour is 660g. MC, you apparently are packing your flour too tight.
I needed to add more flour because I am in a humid environment, so I probably did use more like 765g in the end.
Either my yeast was old or my milk was too hot. I didn’t get it to double in size and so it was very dense in the end. Not really what I was expecting. I’ll try again for a better result.
If I were to freeze it, would I frost and sugar it before freezing or after thawing?
I would recommend waiting to frost until after freezing and thawing for best results, otherwise the glaze on top might gather condensation.
I made this today (made the dough last night) and OMG is it delicious!!! I only made half of the recipe but used both fillings in the one cake I made and all I can say is YUM! I grew up in New Orleans, moved to Florida (where you can buy King Cake in the grocery), and moved to Colorado 3 years ago where we haven’t seen it for sale. Last year I made one using a high-altitude recipe, but it didn’t turn out great. This one was fabulous and I didn’t make any adjustments. Oh and the scraps I had from cutting the dough to size I turned into a little loaf of bread which was also great! Thank you!
I don’t often leave comments but this king cake was so good I needed to make sure I left a review. Super soft. Not overly sweet. More traditional than Dong Phuong but just as good of a recipe.
Thank you so much for such a glowing review!
I’ve made this 2x. The cream cheese filling is tasty, but it always oozes out. Maybe try refrigerating the filling, or not using all of it. I think it would make a better oval if the rolling dimensions were longer and narrower. Using the given dimensions I get more of a circle than an oval. I am originally from NO, La and have made many king cakes, Times Picayune recipe, using cinnamon roll dough, using brioche, using challah, etc….. This one tastes good, but will alter the filling. Thank you.
This is delicious!! Ended up adding about another cup of flour. Otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Thank you
Made it and it was delicious!!!!! Great recipe!
Made both fillings and added a third (almond). I should have made icing more pourable but this cake was excellent. The brioche dough was perfect. I made one cake and turned the other into buns cutting and baking like cinnamon buns. Thanks for a great recipe.
This is the stickest dough I have ever handled. Just got it out of the mixer and into a bowl to rise. Dough climbed up the kneading attachment and stuck to the mixer even though I scraped it down twice. I have a bad feeling about this.
I can’t pinpoint if you worked at Hydels or Gambinos but this is spot on.
I needed close to a cup more flour in the dough, it was very sticky. Also I would put more milk in the frosting so it pours a bit better, stayed really thick on top.
Thank you for this!
Turned out great! I was surprised how easy it was!
Awesome recipe! Tried it yesterday. My family was very impressed! We lived in New Orleans for 8 years. It’s very hard to find a quality king cake in the stores in Texas
I made this yesterday and it’s pretty good; the bread part tastes amazing! My only issues were the cinnamon filling and the icing. I found the filling very dry; so much that it would pour out of the ends when I would try to pick it up/twist the dough. When cutting into it, the only parts with cinnamon still in them were the middle, as it all fell out of the ends, so those pieces are almost entirely bread. I’ve made a cinnamon babka and the filling was similar but also included egg, which made it more spreadable and helped it stick to the dough. My issue with the icing is that it was very thick and not pourable. I just popped it in the microwave and that helped a bit. Still not pourable, but it did spread better when I spooned it on. Making those small adjustments, I would definitely make this again!
This is delicious dough and great filling ideas… question on temperature, I am making today as directed but wondering about the 335 oven temp? I have a gas oven and can set close but not accurately -if like cinnamon rolls and other breads, I usually use 350… is there a reason for the reduced temp?
Oops – no, it was just a typo! You can bake it at 335°F and it will just take a few minutes longer, but you’re right, it was meant to say 350°F. I fixed that in the recipe card.
Well it turned out perfect regardless lol… I baked between 325 and 350 mark and it was delicious! I made one of braids a cream cheese + cinnamon filling and the other one was an almond paste with brown sugar and touch of cinnamon. Thanks for this delicious dough recipe!
I made this yesterday afternoon and accidentally made two small cakes and one large. Other than my not following the directions, it was super easy and really delicious. Not a crumb is left.
So delicious!! I made a full set of the cream cheese filling and 1/2 of the cinnamon sugar filling and just sprinkled the cinnamon sugar over the cream cheese. It came out perfect!
Delicious! I made half for one king cake. I messed up and made the entire
filling so had cream cheese filling on the parchment paper. Scraped it off and put it on top. I loved the flavor and will make again.
Froze half. Hope it will still be as good. Moist and delicious.
I so enjoyed following your recipe and the results were great!! The king cake was delicious and I will definitely be using this recipe again!! Thank you for sharing it!!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This came out absolutely perfect on the very first try! This is some of the most delicious dough I have ever made.
Made this today for Mardi Gras! It’s soooooo good! Made one with cinnamon and one with cream cheese and both were a hit!
The cream cheese flavor mixed into the brioche although the majority of it leaked out. However, I think you inadvertently created a new candy in the process! Once cooled, the gooey puddle left behind is sweet, toasty and caramel-y! Taste those mistakes, everyone! 😄
Try adding an egg to the cream cheese filling -was thicker and worked like a charm for me!
Great idea!!
Next time I make this, I’m also going to attempt a chocolate version. 😉
I made this cake with the cream cheese filling and took it to work. Everyone loved it and wanted the recipe!! The recipe was easy to follow and I liked the way you broke out the steps. I will definitely make this again!
My husband grew up in NOLA and states this is the best King Cake he’s ever had. I surprised him and made it for Mardi Gras. Way way better than the King cake he bought and shipped from a well known bakery in New Orleans. I will definitely make this again. Also, I used a bread machine to make the dough.
Yay! I’m so glad it was such a hit! I tried hard to make it as authentic as I could compared to the many, many versions I tried while in New Orleans for Mardi Gras last year!
I am a mom of 6 and never ever made a king cake before. I am also gluten free myself, but doubled the recipe to share with my family, neighbors, and those I love. I made the cream cheese version. Everyone who tasted it LOVED IT!!! They said it was the best they’ve ever had. So thank you for sharing your recipe!!!!
This recipe simply does not work. As with others, had to add LOTS more flour. Despite claiming to be a double recipe, I used 2/3 of the dough and still could barely make a crown. The icing was runny and brown, not pretty. Notably the 5star reviews were from people who had never tried the recipe! Don’t recommend to anyone.
I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you, but it sounds like perhaps you had some other issues going on. The only thing that could possibly turn your icing brown is the vanilla and even at that, 1 teaspoon isn’t enough to make the glaze brown (and you can see from the images that my icing was nice and bright even with the vanilla extract). If it was runny, try adding less liquid and use cream next time – it can take some practice to get a good glaze consistency. As for being unable to make a crown, if you overload the dough with too much flour it can decrease the elasticity of the dough and make it not stretch as well. But the recipe definitely makes two generous sized king cakes. Best of luck!
Everyone of the 5 stars are from people who made it. Jenny must struggle with reading comprehension, which might explain why the recipe failed.
(We loved it, btw!)
Thank you! 🙂
Hello! I’m from Louisiana and this is 100% authentic taste. Everyone loved it and I’ll be making more for the Mardi Gras party some friends of ours is throwing up here. Quick question, if I am using instant yeast, do I have to let it rise in the fridge? Or can I let it rise on the counter or in the oven (turned off) with the light on?
You can let it rise on the counter if you want!
Tasted just like the ones we used to get when I was a kid! Made my mom very happy when I brought it over 🙂
This turned out so delicious! Yes, it was a very soft dough but used my kitchen aid mixer to knead it helped tremendously. I used the cream cheese filling but I may try combining the cinnamon filling with it next time as other bakers previously mentioned. Thank You👍🏼😊
Yes the cinnamon filling is delicious! I love using my kitchen aid mixer for dough. It helps so much! Glad it turned out delicious!
I made this recipe this year for Mardi Gras and it turned out about as close to perfect as I could hope to get. I let one cake rise on the counter and baked it the night before and the other rise in the fridge and baked it the next morning. Both methods worked well. I loved the step-by-step instructions. Everyone raved. I think this will become an annual tradition.
I hope it does become an annual tradition for you! So glad you had good results!
Turned out wonderful. Hand mixing was difficult, but worked out. Made enough for dessert for our crawfish boil. No more ordering king cakes for me.