[Y]’all… it’s TIME.
It’s time for the brioche-rich, cinnamon-swirled, colorfully sprinkled cake that is KING CAKE!
It’s carnival time here in New Orleans. That means that we’re celebrating life, pushing the limits of indulgence, dancing in the streets (most literally), catching as many beads as we can, throwing as many beads as we can, and eating King Cake… all before Lent next Wednesday. We have a lot to fit into this next week!
In New Orleans, which is a world in its own, we eat King Cake between very specific dates: January 6th to honor the Three Kings and Fat Tuesday (the madness just before Lent).
What’s with all of the colorful cake madness? History. We need a history lesson.
“The King’s Cake accompanies festivities to commemorate the Epiphany, the day the Magi (interpreted by some to mean “kings”) arrived in Bethlehem and presented gifts to baby Jesus the twelfth night after his birth. The cake is a reenactment of Epiphany, with a bean or baby figurine baked into the cake to symbolize Christ and is eaten throughout Carnival festivities.” – Three Men and a Baby: A Brief History of King Cakes
I hesitated to make this cake at home this Mardi Gras. King Cakes are absolutely everywhere in New Orleans and really… there’s no need to make one at home. That would be like visiting Paris and staying indoors to make your own croissants. I’m also very new to New Orleans. Who am I to make a dang King Cake? Well… here goes nothing (/everything).
• Is that a plastic baby Jesus in my cake? Kinda yea.
• 10 things to know about Mardi Gras. Yes… Mardi Gras is only a legal holiday in Louisiana. It’s a different world.
• Mardi Gras Mix Tape Zing!
Here’s what we need: flour and salt, milk, sugar and yeast. The makings of a fine and good yeasted bread.
What takes this treat from bread to cake is fat and flavor. Lots of melted butter, five creamy egg yolks, ground cinnamon, and lemon zest!
We’re also going to need a mega amount of sprinkles. Purple for justice, green for faith, gold for power. And a little plastic baby to sneak into the cake after baking. Whomever gets the cake has to buy the next King Cake… and the circle never ever ends.
If you’re not with us here in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, I hope you make this cake and fill your kitchen with the spirit of this city. It’s special. It’s delicious! It’s Mardi Gras!
Sugar, yeast, and a spoonful of flour are added to warmed milk. This is how we activate the yeast. It’s like the starting line for the yeast race.
Stir and let the yeast eat all the sugar and flour.
Once the yeast mixtures comes alive to foam and froth, melted butter, egg yolks, and lemon are whisked in.
This cake dough is rather soft and wet. I brought the wet and dry ingredients together with a spatula before kneading it with a dough hook for 7 minutes.
Leave the dough in the mixing bowl to rise. No need to dirty another. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warm, draft-free place for an hour and a half.
Soft, fluffy, and risen!
This is also where the filling comes together. Softened butter, sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. We’re going to mix this into a spreadable paste for the inside of our cake.
Dough is divided in two.
Rolled to about 20-inches long… the width the flexible. Spread with buttery spice!
Roll. Cinnamon roll style.
And roll the remaining half of dough! Same same.
The two rolls of dough are lined up and twisted together.
Coaxed into a circle and placed on a lined baking sheet.
Egg wash to make everything golden as ever. I let the cake rest for about 30 minutes while the oven preheats. This allows the cake the stretch out and relax before it gets to work in the oven.
Baked up big and golden brown. Once cooled the cake is frosted with a lemon vanilla glaze.
Call your friends. Call every single one of them. You made a King Cake and that’s just about the best thing in the world.
Soft and rich, cinnamon swirled and sweet glazed! It’s like a fancy brioche coffee cake, with a tiny plastic baby inside, and regal festive sprinkles on top. Don’t forget to to lift a corner of the cake and tuck the baby up inside!
Happy Mardi Gras! Le Bon Temps Roule!
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Mardi Gras King Cake
- Prep Time: 150
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 180
Description
Buttery soft cinnamon swirl King Cake with lemon glaze and all the sprinkles.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 cup whole milk, warmed to about 110 degrees F
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 large egg, beaten for egg wash
For the Filling
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- big pinch of salt
For the Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- purple, green, and yellow sprinkles
- a tiny plastic baby, to sneak in the cake after it’s baked
Instructions
- To make the cake, heat milk in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and whisk in the granulated sugar, yeast, and a heaping tablespoon of the flour, mixing until both the sugar and the yeast have dissolved. Let sit for 5 minutes all allow the yeast to foam.
- Once bubbles have developed on the surface of the milk and it begins to foam, whisk in the butter, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest.
- Place the flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the wet mixture all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine with a spatula until combined. Mix the dough with the mixer and the dough hook for 5 minutes. The dough will be rather wet and sticky. That’s ok! The dough will form a smooth but loose ball. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to ensure that no flour pockets remain
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside in a draft-free place to let it proof, or rise, for 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in volume.
- While the dough rises, combine the filling by mixing all ingredients into a smooth paste.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. One at a time, roll each piece of dough to about 24-26 inches long. The width will be about 6 to 8 inches.
- Spread with half of the buttery filling mixture and roll (cinnamon roll style) starting from the long end of the dough.
- Repeat with the second piece of dough. You’ll have two rolled ropes of dough. Press and roll each dough out another 2-inches or so to even the thickness of the strands.
- Line the ropes of dough up and twist together starting from the center. Bring the edges around and seal into a circle.
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the circular cake on the baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes while the oven preheats.
- Brush cake lightly wish egg wash. Place in the oven for 30-37 minutes to bake until bubbling and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before glazing.
- In a medium bowl whisk together powdered sugar, milk, lemon, and vanilla extract. The glaze should be thick but still pourable.
- Spread glaze over the cooled cake. Sprinkle with purple yellow and green sprinkles. Lift a corner of the cake and tuck the baby up inside for someone to find! Serve in big wedges with hot coffee. Happy Mardi Gras!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 10
98 Responses
I’ve been making this recipe for years, love it. Thank you Joy! One thing I’ve learned is that I don’t actually make a circle, I leave it straight. Since I am usually cutting it myself to bring to parties, doesn’t really matter how it bakes, and to me, allows for the cake to bake more evenly (from my experience) Then you can arrange the sliced pieces in a circle on the serving platter! Happy Mardi Gras y’all!
I love cooking with you, joy. thank you. *big wet eyes emoji*
Hi Joy! I’ve made this recipe each Mardi Gras for the past several years and it’s delicious; however, I’ve always had trouble with the structural integrity of the cake. I’ve assumed I was over-proofing it, but watched really closely this year to make sure I didn’t and still had issues with the dough splitting and spreading (instead of rising) in the oven. I noticed that the recipe calls for quite a bit of yeast and was wondering if perhaps you intended to say 2 teaspoons instead of 2 tablespoons of yeast. Thanks for all your hard work in developing and sharing these great recipes!
I noticed that most of the people that commented, haven’t actually made this recipe… so a couple of things:
(1) I got distracted and my dough over proofed very quickly. I should’ve probably punched it and rollout at the hour or hour and fifteen minute point… 90 minutes was too long, even in winter in my cold ass kitchen.
(2) makes to “rolls” that are about 24 inches long and 6 inches wide was still not long enough to make a circular cake with a hole in the middle. The individual rolls probably needed to be closer to 30 inches but I didn’t realize that till I was braiding my 24 inch rolls- so my cake looks like more of a blob than anything.
(3) for the frosting, the ratio of liquid to powder sugar will not give you a thick but pourable icing. I had to add nearly two cups of sugar more to get that consistency. My advice is add the lemon and vanilla extract to two cups of sugar and then slowly add milk till you get the right consistency- you prob won’t need the full 1/4 of milk.
Joy, Could I use this recipe to make an iced New Years pretzel?
Made this last night for today’s Mardi Gras celebration. Turned out SO GOOD! Thanks Joy, cannot wait to take a baking class with you someday #dreams
Love,
Heather (nursedeis)
My first attempt at this cake wasn’t the greatest…I don’t have a stand mixer, so I kneaded the dough by hand after mixing, and I think that was part of the problem. The other part, I think, I can attribute to the temp in my apartment being too cold for a good rise in 1.5 hours – the crumb was super tight and parts of the cake were dry while other parts were undercooked (near the cinnamon/sugar mixture especially). Does anyone else know why that may have happened? Could the uneven texture be a result of my (probably) inconsistent kneading, or not proofing enough, or…? I’d love to figure this out for the second try.
Typically the inside is moist from my experience making this. The outer is crusty bc of the egg wash. but it shouldn’t be “dry”, because it’s such a butter heavy recipe. Could be your timing, it’s usually pretty spot on for 38 minutes or so. Good luck baking!
I’ve followed this blog for years and the Let It Be Sunday links with a cup of coffee between homework assignments is my weekly tradition. Now let me tell you about this King Cake. I may not be the best baker, or maybe I’m just a little rusty because the closest thing to cooking in my dorm is placing hummus and carrots on a plate instead of eating them straight outta the bag standing next to the mini fridge. I grew up having Manny Randazzo’s, but missed it this year and had this recipe bookmarked to make up for it. Day 1 of spring break was a blizzard, and I knew it was go time. LET ME TELL YOU. This cake came out beautifully golden and airy despite my numerous errors. Assuming the yeast was too slow (haha, no, it was just proofing), I doubled it. This sucker puffed up to twice it’s normal size and almost overran the sides of the sheet pan. Somehow my overzealous mixing turned the filling into a frosting like whip. Thinking it was just too airy, i stuck it in the microwave to try to melt it down a bit (SO WRONG) but somehow it solidified up enough to put in the cake. My glaze resembled very watery cottage cheese, and I added a load of extra corn starch to compensate. I used lemon juice from concentrate instead of fresh, despite having fresh lemons that I used for the zest (millenials, man, soo lazy) but it kinda worked. Couldn’t find yellow sprinkles so it’s a Christmas theme (still religious, so, vaguely related?) and in spite of it all, it tasted soooo good. Thank you, Joy, for bringing a little joy to my snowy corner of New England. The nostalgia kicked me right back to middle school and if you had a section for “recipes that taste like home”, this would be in it.
Hi Joy,
Thank you for this recipe! I finally (after having it saved for years) made this and your rice and beans for my husband last night, and I was very popular :)
He’s already requesting the cinnamon roll version for next year.
I’m baking this right now! I must say, the dough was beautifully, buttery soft and fragrant with cinnamon and lemon zest. Seriously drool-worthy. A friend in Baton Rouge just mailed me a King Cake from Poupart’s Bakery and I’m interested to compare mine with the professional version. I can’t wait to dazzle my coworkers with this beaut on Fat Tuesday!
Hi Joy, I made this yesterday and it turned out PERFECTLY! Yeast always makes me nervous but it rose, rolled, braided, baked and tasted amazing. My mother was born and raised in New Orleans and I can’t wait to deliver her a piece of King Cake tomorrow. She is going to be very very happy :)
Hi! I was just wondering if you can tase the chocolate in the filling or the lemon in the icing? Or, are these ingredients added in for a different reason?
You can definitely taste the lemon in the icing. The chocolate you may not be able to taste strongly, but it’s in there for color.
Hellooo fellow Irish Channel Dweller! I am making this king cake tonight but thinking of changing up the filling to a clementine and cardamom cream cheese filing with similar icing (distracted by the alliteration there). Anything I should do differently to keep the filling intact?
Also, do you ever put cinnamon in your dry mix for dough?
Let’s be neighborhood baking buds. :)
I’m not sure, that would be a totally different recipe. I would suggest maybe a different King Cake recipe. Good luck!
A friend made us this recipe for a Mardi Gras party. Not only was it gorgeous, but it SMELLED like a New Orleans king cake. It was amazing.
that’s a good friend!
Hi Joy! Is it possible to make this cake without a stand mixer? How long should I knead the dough by hand? I moved to Austin from New Orleans two years ago and always miss it like crazy this time of year, I’m so excited to be able to make king cake for mardi gras season!
Rachel, I have made the dough in a food processor with good results. But if you don’t have that, of course, you can make it by hand….that’s what folks did before gadgets!! lol Made this last year…it was delicious. Only thing I would change is the glaze.
I have a quick tip! I heard this around the time I made my first King Cake and it worked out great for me: if you want to make sure that the dough doesn’t expand into the hole while the cake bakes, just put a glass jar in the hole and leave it in there while it bakes. I used a clean, empty glass peanut butter jar; for me that was the perfect size. I can’t remember if I greased it or not, but I’m sure you’d be able to figure out what would work best. Obviously, whether a King Cake has a perfect hole or not doesn’t matter in the slightest, but if you’re anal like me it’s a useful trick to have up your sleeve. Besides, it gives you the excuse to empty out a peanut butter jar! ;)
Your cake looks delicious! Thanks for the awesome recipe! I’ll definitely have to try it out the next time I make a King Cake!
I added one cup of sugar to the filling mixture. Looked about the right amount according to the photo. Everyone loved it.
I found the icing to be way too thin also.
Chloe, I see what you mean about the sugar in the photo for the filling, it also looks like more than 1 tablespoon.
YES!!!
This is amazing! I’ve always wanted to make a king cake. I missed Mardi Gras, but I still might make one! Thanks for sharing!
This looks so delicious, I can’t wait to try out your cake! This year I decided to do something crazy and make King Cake inspired CRONUTS! They were amazing :) Check them out here…
https://hauteandheirloom.blogspot.com/2015/02/new-orleans-king-cake-cronuts-with.html
XOXO,
Juliana from Haute + Heirloom
What a fun place to live this time of year!
Joy, Is it possible you meant to list 1 T sugar in the filling ingredients instead of flour? Because in the description that accompanies the pictures, you mention sugar but not flour. I have the dough rising right now and I’m wondering what to fill it with. Thanks!
I made this yesterday and it came out pretty great! Even though I was out of powdered sugar and had to use a lemon-brown sugar glaze instead of icing (which worked great!). One question though – the areas surrounding the filling came out a little dense and wet. Maybe because I added a tablespoon of sugar to the filling, trying to get the crusty, carmely cinnamon praline filling (sans nuts) of my childhood?
Still tasted great. And it wasn’t as hard as I expected! Neighbors that let you borrow a kitchenaid are the best neighbors.
Just made this last night in preparation for Fat Tuesday & it came out great! I didn’t do the best job at intertwining the 2 ropes together, so it came out a bit lopsided, but whatevs.
https://instagram.com/p/zMOfFqswIJ/
https://instagram.com/p/zMGjUrMwO0/
My cake turned out well! I’m also wondering whether sugar and/or flour go into the filling. I opted for just flour, like it said.
Also, the glaze was pretty thin, definitely not spreadable, even after adding a lot more powdered sugar. Was the milk supposed to be condensed milk (like in John Besh’s recipe)?
Thanks for helping me with my first King Cake – it was FUN!
Joy, just a note — in your ingredients list for the filling you don’t list sugar, but in your pictures you mention it. Is it flour plus sugar, or is that supposed to be just one tablespoon of sugar? Thank you always!
Needs the amount of sugar in the filling…was going good up until then. Disappointed after putting all that effort into the dough
Hi Joy! Not seeing how much sugar goes into the filling. My dough is rising as I type – please help!
Hi Joy! Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe. How much sugar do you use for your filling?
Hi Joy! I made this cake this afternoon and, though it still looks perfectly edible, the dough ripped a lot while baking, like it didn’t have enough stretch in it, even though I followed the directions. I have a stand mixer and everything. Any idea what may have went wrong?
Joy! In the recipe photos, you say to add sugar into the filling mixture, but it’s not on the ingredient list for that step. How much sugar goes into the filling? Our dough is rising as we speak– so excited!
Madeline, I just made the cake as well. I added 1 cup of white sugar to the filling and it seems to be OK. Hope that helps
Your recipe doesn’t have an amount of sugar for the filling….I only see it in the photos.
Did I miss something? How much sugar in the filling? Thanks!
Definitely trying this!! Thank God for the step by step photos haha.
Ok, I’m doing this. I’m committing to it and making a King Cake from scratch this year!!
Am mid recipe– dough is rising and I’m realizing there is no sugar measurement for the filling… has anyone else made this? How much sugar did you use!? I know this is a Hail Mary, but figured I’d give it a shot :)
Thank you for the recipe. I will try to make it for church coffee hour. As a Spanish teacher (now retired) I have made a Rosca de Reyes for Epiphany, but never realized that the photos I saw of a green, yellow and purple cake was related to the to that tradition.
I made this cake last night and can’t wait to serve it tonight! One note – the sugar amount for the filling is missing in the recipe….
How much did you use? I am in the middle of making this now and just saw the omition, lol.
Long live the king cake!!
My boyfriend and I just moved back to California after going to college in Louisiana and I would really love to make him a king cake in lieu of going to a traditional Mardi Gras this year. This looks incredible, but I don’t have a stand mixer! Is there any way to make it without one?
This looks and sounds amazing, thanks so much for the recipe!
xx Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
this is such a fun, colorful cake! I am sad to say I have never tried a traditional mardi gras cake before but this looks divine.
https://www.getchaglowon.com
How much sugar goes into the filling? I’m making this bad boy tonight! Thank you Joy!!!
How much sugar did you use? I am right in the middle of this and just discovered the omition. D’oh!
I love the way you’ve twisted the dough. I’m going to try that for this year’s King cake.
I love King’s Cake, the smell of it always takes me back to French class in high school. Thanks for this recipe!
The king cake looks amazing! Maybe next year you should try a Courir de Mardi Gras
https://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2015/02/11/385480686/forget-beads-cajun-mardi-gras-means-a-grand-drunken-chicken-chase
Laissez les bon temps roulez!
I have never had king cake but it looks really fun to make! I just might have to try it!
This year is my first Mardi Gras back in Louisiana after 4 long years away. In the past 4 years, I used to always make a king cake for my office and silently mourn the lack of a Mardi Gras work holiday and my inability to ever find an authentic king cake baby for my cake.
Happy Mardi Gras!!
Love King Cakes…..whether they be from New Orleans or Mobile,AL where Mardi Gras is also a legal holiday! I can’t wait to try your recipe!
So dang beautiful!!! My heart is aching for NOLA right now;)
MMMMM…..that looks yummy!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
I love this cake. It’s so… festive!! I’m not confident yet with yeasted anything, but would love to give this one a go! Thanks. ;)
I can’t even imagine how crazy it must be to live in New Orleans for Mardi Gras! And for a Louisiana-newbie, that cake looks mighty good!
this looks so pretty and yummy at the same time :)
https://trulyaddia.wordpress.com
This looks great! I’ve been getting into the yeast baking lately, and this looks like a perfect choice for my next yeast adventure! Thanks for the recipe!
Ooooh!! It’s so festive! I have heard good things about King Cake and I would love to try it. :3
Lee
https://www.lastnightwithlee.blogspot.com
You just brought me back! I lived in New Orleans for a year when I was ten (a pivotal time, for sure) and I thought the idea of a baby in the cake was so strange until I was the one who got it ;)
I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe and your festive account of New Orleans Mardi Gras!
I’ve been following your blog for a while, and ended up on this recipe from your recent Kings Cake post. I was looking for something more traditional, and you linked back to this one. It was perfect! It reminded me of a real New Orleans King Cake, but fresh, homemade, and richer. The lemon zest and chocolate – I never would have guessed that was the key to the wonderful flavor in the cake!
I hope you don’t mind if I gush for a minute (this is my first time commenting here).
I love baking blogs, and over the years yours has stood out among the many I follow. Your humor, openness, and personal flair have drawn me in and your creative, Cajun-inspired recipes keep me coming back. I confess I used to skip the ‘Let it Be Sunday’ posts (because I’m all about the food), but your recent political post after the election caught my eye.
I probably have very different political opinions and values, but I share your passion for policies that build us up and treat all citizens equally. I saw a bit of a backlash in the comments, and want to tell you that – as someone not aligned with either party, and leans conservative – I believe that dialogue and open discussion is the best way for us to improve this world. Your blog is your space, and your opinions on any and all subjects are welcomed and encouraged by this reader. When we start silencing people, or become hesitant to share our strongly held views, we miss an opportunity to open someone’s eyes and reach a fellow human.
All this was to say, I now read and love your ‘Let it Be’ posts, and can’t wait to have another slice of the Kings Cake I made :).
INSANE! It looks amazing, Joy!
Hi Joy, this comment is totally unrelated to this recipe, which does look and sound insane, but anyway – just listened to the Captain’s Log episode of your podcast last night and holy hell, I think it’s my favorite one so far, and I’ve been listening since the beginning. The confusion/hysteria of being a cruise was apparent and I think that’s what made it so hilarious. I’ve never been on a cruise but I think I would react very similarly.. Thank you for all your hard work blogging and podcasting! (I also had to post this to Tracy’s blog cause it seemingly wasn’t working when I tried to comment on the actual podcast episode, but whatev, wanted to tell you how awesome you are!)
This cake is stunning, Joy! Love. Love. Love!!!!!! :D <3
Oooh, I cannot wait to make this cake!! Thanks so much, Joy, for sharing such a beautiful, and I’m sure fabulously delicious, recipe. This is the perfect way to celebrate Fat Tuesday!
It’s like a yeasty cinnamon roll cake…I’m loving it!! #iheartfattuesday xx
I think you meant to say that the person to find the baby would have to buy the next king cake? Here in France we have a different version of the king cake (eaten on Jan6th): the galette des rois. We still bake the porcelain baby jesus into it! I have never had the American version but your cake looks so delicious I will have to try it! Thank you!
I…know nothing about real King Cake apparently. Here (in KY) they literally smear some purple frosting on a large glazed donut and shove some naked non-Jesus looking nude guy inside. Good thing we have bourbon. Sheww.
I always make the Southern Living king cake recipe, but next year I will have to try yours because it looks spectacular! Have you tried a praline filling? My fave. This year,I don’t have to bake my own because I’m headed to NOLA on Friday for my first Mardi Gras since I moved away 9 years ago!!!
YAY! King cake time! You can bet the minute I get home from NY, I’m making this baby, stat! Mardi Gras is a big deal in St Louis (crazy, right?). Happy happy!
Yesssss… I’m going to a Mardi Gras party this weekend and they’re making a king cake. Hopefully it’s as good as this. I think that once my stupid kitchen warms up again, I should start practicing for next year.
This looks so good! Do you think I can do it without a dough hook?
This looks amazing. I love anything cinnamon flavoured! x
Joy, you seriously have me considering making this. I’m always worried about adding eggs to warm ingredients, but i’ll give this one a try!
Finding the baby in your pictures was like playing Where’s Waldo? i totally won by the way ;)
Thanks Joy! So excited. Happy Mardi Gras! xo
This is a delicious king cake! I’ve made it a feeble times now, and it always leaks a bit of cinnamon sugar out onto the baking sheet, which bakes into such delightful candy that I can’t decide if this is a flaw in my sealing or the greatest of boons!
Thank you, thank you! Being 2000 miles from New Orleans, I’ve been looking unsuccessfully for a good King Cake recipe. I’ll be baking this over the weekend. If it’s half as good as your browned butter chocolate chip cookies, I’ll be thrilled.
Would this work well if I did domenica-style toppings instead? (er, split it “hamburger style” and filled with the toppings?)
I am so pumped for this recipe! As a former resident of Louisiana turned New Yorker, I was looking for a way to celebrate Mardi Gras, and this is it!
I love your King Cake! I remember my first King Cake in New Orleans and it was glorious! Your cake is beautiful!
I think I saw this last night on Pinterest! I’ve never made a Mardi Gras King Cake but I’m going to now!! What a beautiful presentation Joy !!
Love this cake and love your links too! Good luck fitting in all that awesomeness before Lent! You can do it!
I want to dance in the street, with a big slice of king cake in one hand and a tambourine in the other—forgive my lack of rhythm in advance!
I miss real King Cakes – having lived in New Orleans for many years there is nothing like a fresh King Cake. The office I worked in had a tradition (like most offices in NOLA) that every Friday someone would bring in a King Cake and whoever got the baby had to bring in the next one. It was a great way to taste all the different ones from all over the city. Filled, iced, plain, traditional, every part of the city had its own way of doing a King Cake. It was also a great way to gain 20 pounds during Mardi Gras season! Oh, I know what it means to miss New Orleans . . . .
Thanks for the memories, Joy.
I can’t even lie. I have NEVER had King Cake! But anything that involves Brioche and ALL the color sounds like something I am MEGA on board for. LUHVING this cake! Pinned!
When do we add the baby?
Dang girl! Your cake looks perfect. I’ve always wanted to make my own king cake!
That looks a lot more fun than here. In the UK we just make pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. And not your big thick American pancakes either. It’s quite boring.
Awesome history lesson :-) Does the person who finds the baby get a prize? :-)
I wish I was in your kitchen right now Joy. I am all for sprinkling more rainbows on bread any day.