King Cake
By Bronwen WyattPublished on January 2, 2024
Time
2½ hours, plus 3 hours 50 minutes to 4 hours 20 minutes chilling, rising, and cooling
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Cake
2½ cups (12½ ounces/354 grams) all-purpose flour ¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) granulated sugar 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast ¾ teaspoon table salt ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon water, divided3 large eggs, divided3 tablespoons whole milk 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted2 teaspoons vanilla extract Vegetable oil spray Purple, green, and yellow colored sanding sugar 1 king cake baby, dried bean, or almond (optional)Filling
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened ½ cup (2 ounces/57 grams) gingersnap cookie crumbs½ cup (3½ ounces/99 grams) granulated sugar ¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces/50 grams) brown sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ⅛ teaspoon table saltGlaze
3 cups (12 ounces/340 grams) confectioners' sugar ½ cup sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch table saltBefore You Begin
We prefer to refrigerate the dough overnight, which gives it a fuller flavor and makes it easier to handle. You'll need about 10 gingersnap cookies to yield ½ cup of crumbs. To make the crumbs, pulse the cookies in a food processor or place them in a zipper-lock bag and crush them with a rolling pin until finely ground. You can substitute graham cracker crumbs or Biscoff cookie crumbs for the gingersnap crumbs if you'd like. This recipe was developed using a light-colored cake pan; if your pan is dark, begin checking for doneness at about 35 minutes (before tenting it with foil). Be sure to advise your guests if you choose to hide the (inedible) king cake baby under your cake.
Instructions
- Whisk flour, sugar, yeast, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer. Whisk ⅓ cup water, 2 eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla together in liquid measuring cup. Make well in flour mixture and add water mixture to well. Fit mixer with paddle attachment and mix on low speed until ingredients are just combined, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and mix until dough forms stretchy, web-like strands on sides of bowl, about 5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl halfway through mixing (dough will be soft and sticky). Transfer dough to lightly greased large bowl and coat dough lightly with oil spray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Using clean stand mixer bowl and paddle attachment, beat all ingredients on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute. (Filling can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours; let filling sit at room temperature until softened, at least 15 minutes, before spreading onto dough in step 5.)
- Whisk all ingredients in bowl until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. (Glaze can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours.)
- Grease 9-inch round cake pan, line with parchment paper, and grease parchment. Working quickly, transfer dough to lightly floured counter and divide into 2 equal portions (about 12 ounces each). Lightly flour dough portions. Roll each portion into 12 by 4-inch rectangle with long edge parallel to counter edge.
- Using offset spatula, spread half of filling over 1 dough rectangle, leaving ¾-inch border at long edge of dough opposite counter edge. Beginning with long edge nearest you, roll dough away from you into even log, pushing in ends to create even thickness. Pinch seam to seal and roll log seam side down. Repeat with second dough rectangle and remaining filling.
- Place dough logs next to each other, perpendicular to counter edge. Cross left log tightly over right log. Continue twisting, 3 times total, to wrap dough logs around each other. Carefully transfer shaped dough to prepared pan, forming ring in pan, and pinch both ends together to seal. Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 1 to 1½ hours.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk remaining 1 egg and remaining 1 tablespoon water together in small bowl. Brush dough evenly with egg wash. Bake until cake is glossy and deep golden brown, about 35 minutes. Tent cake with aluminum foil and continue to bake until center of cake registers 200 to 210 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes longer.
- Transfer cake to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and let rest until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Run paring knife around edges of pan. Carefully remove cake from pan and transfer to rack, rounded side up, discarding parchment. Pour glaze evenly over cake and let sit until glaze stops running but is still wet, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with colored sugars, alternating colors in pinwheel pattern around cake. Let cake cool until just warm, about 30 minutes.
- Transfer cake to serving platter. Hide king cake baby underneath cake, if using. Serve.
for the cake
for the filling
for the glaze
Time
2½ hours, plus 3 hours 50 minutes to 4 hours 20 minutes chilling, rising, and coolingYield
Serves 8Ingredients
Cake
Filling
Glaze
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Cake
Filling
Glaze
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Cake
Filling
Glaze
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We wanted a recipe for an excellent New Orleans–style king cake, engineered for home cooks so that anyone across the country could properly celebrate the Mardi Gras season. The typical king cake is a cinnamon-filled round of tender, enriched dough covered with a light glaze and decorated with purple, green, and gold sugar. Ours fits that bill but with some steps taken specifically with the home baker in mind. First, to ensure that our filling stayed put during baking, we added gingersnap cookie crumbs to the mixture of softened butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. The crumbs stiffened the filling, absorbing its melted butter and preventing it from oozing out, while also adding ginger's pleasing mild heat. Second, we thoroughly chilled our dough, making it a pleasure to work with and keeping it from getting sticky during assembly. Finally, we chose to bake our cake in a 9-inch cake pan rather than free-form on a baking sheet (which is more typical), meaning that we could use a more tender dough without fear of it sagging. The resulting crown of cake is stately, tall, fluffy, and pillowy soft, made irresistible with the finishing touches of a sour cream glaze and crunchy colored sugar.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
We prefer to refrigerate the dough overnight, which gives it a fuller flavor and makes it easier to handle. You'll need about 10 gingersnap cookies to yield ½ cup of crumbs. To make the crumbs, pulse the cookies in a food processor or place them in a zipper-lock bag and crush them with a rolling pin until finely ground. You can substitute graham cracker crumbs or Biscoff cookie crumbs for the gingersnap crumbs if you'd like. This recipe was developed using a light-colored cake pan; if your pan is dark, begin checking for doneness at about 35 minutes (before tenting it with foil). Be sure to advise your guests if you choose to hide the (inedible) king cake baby under your cake.
Instructions
- Whisk flour, sugar, yeast, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer. Whisk ⅓ cup water, 2 eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla together in liquid measuring cup. Make well in flour mixture and add water mixture to well. Fit mixer with paddle attachment and mix on low speed until ingredients are just combined, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and mix until dough forms stretchy, web-like strands on sides of bowl, about 5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl halfway through mixing (dough will be soft and sticky). Transfer dough to lightly greased large bowl and coat dough lightly with oil spray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Using clean stand mixer bowl and paddle attachment, beat all ingredients on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute. (Filling can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours; let filling sit at room temperature until softened, at least 15 minutes, before spreading onto dough in step 5.)
- Whisk all ingredients in bowl until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. (Glaze can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours.)
- Grease 9-inch round cake pan, line with parchment paper, and grease parchment. Working quickly, transfer dough to lightly floured counter and divide into 2 equal portions (about 12 ounces each). Lightly flour dough portions. Roll each portion into 12 by 4-inch rectangle with long edge parallel to counter edge.
- Using offset spatula, spread half of filling over 1 dough rectangle, leaving ¾-inch border at long edge of dough opposite counter edge. Beginning with long edge nearest you, roll dough away from you into even log, pushing in ends to create even thickness. Pinch seam to seal and roll log seam side down. Repeat with second dough rectangle and remaining filling.
- Place dough logs next to each other, perpendicular to counter edge. Cross left log tightly over right log. Continue twisting, 3 times total, to wrap dough logs around each other. Carefully transfer shaped dough to prepared pan, forming ring in pan, and pinch both ends together to seal. Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 1 to 1½ hours.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk remaining 1 egg and remaining 1 tablespoon water together in small bowl. Brush dough evenly with egg wash. Bake until cake is glossy and deep golden brown, about 35 minutes. Tent cake with aluminum foil and continue to bake until center of cake registers 200 to 210 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes longer.
- Transfer cake to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and let rest until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Run paring knife around edges of pan. Carefully remove cake from pan and transfer to rack, rounded side up, discarding parchment. Pour glaze evenly over cake and let sit until glaze stops running but is still wet, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with colored sugars, alternating colors in pinwheel pattern around cake. Let cake cool until just warm, about 30 minutes.
- Transfer cake to serving platter. Hide king cake baby underneath cake, if using. Serve.
for the cake
for the filling
for the glaze
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