Mardi Gras King Cake
On Mardi Gras (pronounced MaaDeeGraa), it is customary to serve a King Cake. It is usually a pastry-based cake, with some form of cinnamon and spice. The coolest part? There’s a small plastic baby hidden inside the cake! The lucky person who finds the slice with the baby hosts the exciting Big Easy party next year.
Mardi Gras, or Carnivale season, is French for Fat Tuesday. The official holiday colors are purple, green and gold. Purple represents justice, green represents faith and gold is power.
We’ve made a few changes to the traditional yeast-based dessert. For starters, our Mardi Gras King Cake is made easy with a moist yogurt and maple base. Full fat yogurt is preferred for baking. Since we use oil, this will make for a moist crumb texture. However, the fat from the yogurt is needed to enrich the oil and taste of the cake.We kept the traditional cinnamon filling but added mini chocolate chips (or try cinnamon baking chips!).
The Mardi Gras King Cake’s filling has ground chicory, a New Orleans delicacy, which is the roasted and ground root of the endive plant. It's most notably used in coffee drinks throughout the region, most famously at the iconic Cade Du Monde in the French Quarter. Instant espresso powder can also be substituted. The Mardi Gras King Cake is topped with a vanilla glaze and festive Mardi Gras colored sprinkles.
We chose maple as a subtle flavor in the Mardi Gras King Cake because it reminded us of a scrumptious French toast recipe called Pain Perdu. Served either for brunch or dessert, the dish originated in New Orleans and made using stale French bread soaked in a sweet custard batter. It's lightly pan fried, then baked until golden. The breakfast dish is just one of the French-influenced recipes found in ‘Nawlins!
Be sure to read all of the steps of the recipe before starting the Mardi Gras King Cake. There are steps to making the components: the cake, the filling, and glaze.
In the notes section, you will see a tip on how to make a simple glaze, too.
Read through the recipe and instructions before you start. You’ll need a Bundt and a stand mixer.
The Mardi Gras King Cake is perfect for your next theme party! All you need is masks, beads, cocktails and lots of jazz served up with a slice of yum! Serve with chocolate covered pralines, a mix of Cajun style pretzels and popcorn. Plus, you could be the lucky one and get the baby!
Mardi Gras King Cake
ingredients:
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups of maple full fat yogurt (approximately 3 individual sized 5 or 6 oz. yogurt cups), room temperature
- ½ cup of maple syrup
- ¾ cup of canola oil
- 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract
- Zest and juice of a small orange
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon or mixed baking spice
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- Optional: small plastic toy baby or sour gummy bear, reserved after baking
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon or mixed baking spice
- ½ teaspoon of nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon of ground chicory, (preferably Cafe du Monde), or instant espresso powder
- 1 cup of mini chocolate or cinnamon baking chips
- 1 and ¾ cups of sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract (or rum)
- 1 tablespoon of maple syrup
- 2-6 tablespoons of milk, more if needed
- Purple, yellow and green sanding sugar or sprinkles
instructions:
How to cook Mardi Gras King Cake
- Prepare a Bundt pan very generously with canola oil baking spray. Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Cake Batter: In a large glass measuring cup with a spout, whisk the eggs, then the yogurt, syrup, oil, extract, zest, juice and sugar together to form a lumpy batter. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, spice, salt, baking powder and soda. Gently mix on low for a minute. Pour in the wet ingredients and mix on medium for 3 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom as needed.
- Assembly and Baking: Pour half the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Flatten with a butter knife or offset spatula. With a tablespoon, gently add the filling to the cake, pressing into an even layer. Pour the remaining batter over the filling, turning the Bundt pan as you go, into an even layer. Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the bake time, until the cake is golden. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan for about 30 minutes. Slowly run a butter knife or offset spatula around the inner tube and outer edges of the pan.
- Cake Transfer: Slowly run a butter knife or offset spatula around the inner tube and outer edges of the pan again. Cut a small hole in the cake where there’s a natural crack and place the small plastic toy baby or gummy bear inside, pressing to fill up the hole. Press to adhere. Invert the pan onto the baking rack to release the cake. Then re-invert it so that the bottom is now the top. Cool to room temperature on the baking rack.
- For the Glaze and Decoration: Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper and top with the cake on top of the cooling rack. In a medium bowl, stir together confectioners’ sugar, salt, extract, syrup and milk. The glaze consistency should be thick but pourable. Add more milk if needed. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake allowing it to drip down the sides. While the glaze is still wet but about to set, scatter with the cake with sprinkles as shown in the picture. Allow the glaze to set, about 1 hour.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Best eaten within 1-2 days of making the recipe.
NOTES:
• Try adding 1 cup of cinnamon baking chips to the batter! • For a party, set out some cocktails, the Mardi Gras King Cake, chocolate covered pralines, and a mix of Cajun style pretzels and popcorn. For brunch, try the Mardi Gras King Cake with bananas foster sauce.
• Full fat yogurt is preferred for baking especially in the Mardi Gras King Cake recipe since we use oil not butter. If you can’t find maple yogurt, use vanilla and add ½ teaspoon of maple extract. • Traditionally, King Cake has a hidden toy “baby”. In our Mardi Gras King Cake, we’ve used a gummy bear. The person who gets the baby in their slice of cake is considered extra lucky and hosts the party next year. They make next year’s King Cake! Be extra careful when eating, advising guests of the tradition, to avoid choking hazards. • It’s important to take the extra step of sifting the confectioners’ sugar in the Glaze through a fine mesh strainer. Some bakers even double sift! Confectioners’ sugar absorbs moisture from the air, forming lumps that can affect the texture of the Glaze. Once sifted, the sugar will create a smooth consistency when combined with the liquid. • Our Mardi Gras King Cake is best stored at room temperature. It freezes well before glazing when wrapped tightly in plastic and tin foil. Thaw in refrigerator.
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