Traditional Mardi Gras King Cake with Lemon Glaze

Traditional Mardi Gras King Cake with Lemon Glaze

King Cake is a brioche-like cake decorated with purple, green and yellow sanding sugars for Mardi Gras celebrations. My version of this traditional treat is braided, baked in a Bundt pan, and topped with a tart and sweet lemon glaze. A whole almond is tucked into this cake in place of the typical porcelain baby (see "What Is A King Cake?" section in post), but if you have one, by all means use it!

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 35

Rising time 45

Servings slices

Calories 380 kcal

5 from 13 votes

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Equipment

1 12-cup Bundt pan
Rolling Pin
Stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or hand mixer
Dough hook for stand mixer (optional)
pastry brush

Ingredients

King Cake Dough

¼ ounce package active dry yeast (2¼ teaspoons)
½ cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (divided)
¾ cup whole milk (warmed to 105-110℉)
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom ½
½ teaspoon kosher salt
14 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs, room temperature
Zest of one orange

King Cake Filling

¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Zest of one orange
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and divided
2 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
½ cup chopped pecans
1 whole almond

Glaze

2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3-4 tablespoon lemon juice
green, purple, and yellow sanding sugars (see "Ingredient" section in post)

Instructions

Prepare the King Cake Dough

In a small bowl, stir together yeast, 1 teaspoon (5 mL) of the sugar, and milk. Let the mixture stand for 5 to 10 minutes or until foamy.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a hand mixer, beat the remaining ½ cup sugar and butter at medium speed for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the yeast mixture and beat for 1 minute more.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then beat in the orange zest.
With the mixer on low speed, beat in the flour mixture in three additions, beating until all ingredients are well incorporated.
If using a stand mixer, replace the paddle with a dough hook. Knead on medium low speed for 7-8 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
If you don't have a dough hook, knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured work surface for 10-12 minutes, until you have a smooth, elastic, and lightly sticky dough.
Gather the dough into a ball and transfer it to a large bowl that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. (See my "Top Tips" section in the post.)
Turn the dough out onto a work surface, punch it down, and knead it a few times before forming it back into a ball. Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Prepare the Filling

In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, cinnamon, orange zest, ¼ cup of the butter, bourbon (if using) and pecans.

Shape the King Cake

Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray.
On a lightly floured surface, using a rolling pin, roll dough out into a 24 by 12 inch (60 by 30 cm) rectangle. Cut the dough lengthwise into three 24 by 12 inch (50 by 10 cm) strips. Using a pastry brush, brush each strip with some of the remaining melted butter.
Sprinkle the strips with the filling, leaving a ½-inch (1 cm) border on all sides.
Fold each strip over lengthwise to enclose filling, pinching the seams along the length and at the ends to seal. Braid the three pieces together as snugly as possible. Brush the top of the braid with the remaining melted butter.
Bring the ends of the braid together to create a loop, overlapping slightly and scrunching the loop together as necessary to fit it into the prepared Bundt pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place for 45 minutes.

Bake and Decorate the Bundt

Preheat the oven to 350℉/180℃. Remove the plastic wrap from the Bundt pan and bake the cake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is deep golden brown, firm, springs back when pressed, and has an internal temperature of 190℉ (see "Top Tips" section in post.) Let the cake cool in its pan for 10 minutes and then carefully invert it onto a cooling rack. Optional: Invert the cake a SECOND TIME so that the puffed braided side is facing up (see Notes.) Let cake cool completely.
After the cake has cooled, carefully tuck the almond into the cake through the bottom or the side (see Notes.)
Prepare the glaze: In a clean medium bowl, beat confectioners' sugar and egg white on low speed to combine. Beat in the corn syrup and 3 tablespoon (45 mL) of the lemon juice. Beat in more lemon juice, 1 teaspoon (5 mL) at a time, until the glaze is smooth and glossy put pourable.
Pour the glaze evenly over the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Sprinkle the top with green, purple and yellow sanding sugars in alternating wide stripes. Let the glaze set for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

You can glaze the cake with the braided side facing up, or with the curved Bundt side facing up. I show both in the various photos in my post. It's all a matter of personal preference. The braided side will make it resemble a more "traditional" king cake,, whereas the curved side is a little neater in appearance.
The whole almond in this recipe replaces the traditional porcelain or plastic baby used in king cakes. You can also use a large bean. See the section towards the top of my post called "What is a King Cake?" for more!

Nutrition

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