Commercial Yeast Recipes

Kid Sized King Cake

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Last year we took a trip down to the Gulf Coast, driving through Mobile, Alabama and vacationing for a week on Dauphin Island…a little piece of paradise we never knew existed. We added a day trip to New Orleans, Louisiana where we indulged in beignets at Cafe du Monde, danced to jazz music in the street and enjoyed sampling Cajun cooking. We even sampled a piece of their famous “King Cake” and learned about the history of Mardi Gras, something we knew very little about. This trip was the inspiration for this kid sized king cake, a yummy and festive way to introduce your kids to Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras History

Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” in French. It is traditionally a time of fun and feasting before Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday. Many people give up certain foods and other luxuries during Lent to prepare themselves for Easter. When French settlers moved to North America, they continued their traditions and the first American Mardi Gras was celebrated in Mobile, Alabama or New Orleans (depending on who you ask). Now, New Orleans holds the largest Mardi Gras celebration in North America. Many parades, people dressed up in costume, beads, jazz music and celebrating take place leading up to and on Fat Tuesday, exactly 47 days before Easter.

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Introducing Kids to A New Culture

As a mom I’m always looking for fun ways to make connections to the real world with my kids. We don’t traditionally celebrate Ash Wednesday or Mardi Gras but I’m always up for an excuse to bake. After experiencing the fun vibes of New Orleans, I decided Mardi Gras King Cakes were on my bucket-list to “bake with my kids.” I picked up an informational book from our local library (thank you library holds), purchased a few ingredients and we made our own “kid-sized” King Cakes.

What is a King Cake?

King Cakes are traditionally eaten during Mardi Gras season. They are baked into the shape of a crown and taste similar to a cinnamon roll, though other flavors are also popular. Gold, green and purple sugar sprinkles cover the creamy icing as a reminder of power, faith and justice. A little doll is traditionally hidden in the cake and the person who finds it (sinking their teeth into it) buys a king cake for the group the next time they get together.

Adapting King Cakes for Kids

A traditional King Cake feeds around 18 people. I wanted each of my kids to get to make their own, so we made “mini” versions that make around 8 slices each. For our Kid-Sized King Cakes, I pulled some candy out of the pantry and let the kids choose what they wanted to hide in their cake. I thought an edible version would be better than the potential for a cracked tooth. We rolled up the candy inside the dough, baked it and then the kids had to guess where it was when we cut into the cake. The anticipation seeing if they guessed right and looking for the mystery candies was a hit. The consensus was the caramels held together pretty well. Chocolate was second-best and the gummy bears melted away. They were still fun to find the colors left behind. Moral of the story: use what you have on hand (leftover Valentine…or even Christmas candy works great).

The Process

This southern cake starts out with a sour cream mixture that is heated over the stove. The dough is mixed using a stand mixer or by hand and then left to rise for an hour. After rising, portion the dough into two king cakes (or one large one if you want to make a traditional king cake). Roll the dough out into two rectangles and fill with cinnamon sugar filling. This filling is not quite as heavy for King Cake as a traditional cinnamon roll recipe. If you like more filling, you can double the filling recipe. Choose a candy to hide and place it somewhere on your rectangle of dough. Then roll the dough up cinnamon-roll style and shape into a circle, bringing the two ends together. Let the king cake rise again before baking. Once the cake is baked, top with the icing and cover in colorful sprinkles (affiliate link).

These King Cakes are decadent, delicious and kids are in heaven with the amount of sprinkles they put on top. And while I would never recommend skipping this delicious dough, I won’t bat an eye if you pick up a refrigerated roll of dough from the grocery store and follow the rest of the recipe from there. Either way, get in the kitchen and have fun making a mess with all the sprinkles, living it up with your kid-sized King Cakes and “let the good times roll!”

Kid-Sized King Cake

Amy
The perfect way to celebrate Mardi Gras with these kid-sized king cakes. Whether you want to introduce your kids to a fun new tradition or enjoy a King Cake that's a little smaller portion-wise, these King Cakes are the perfect size for a small group and taste delicious too.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Rising Time: 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 52 minutes
Course Bread, Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 2 small king cakes

Ingredients
  

King Cake Dough

  • 8 oz sour cream
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter cubed
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup warm water
  • ¾ Tablespoon instant yeast
  • 1 large egg beaten
  • 3-3 ½ cups bread flour see recipe note

King Cake Filling

  • 3 Tablespoons butter softened
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 small unwrapped candies to hide in the King Cakes

Glaze

  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla or any flavoring you like
  • purple, yellow, green sugar sprinkles for decorating

Instructions
 

  • In a saucepan on the stove over low heat, cook the sour cream, sugar, butter and salt until the butter is melted. Cool to room temperature.
  • Pour the mixture into a heavy duty stand mixer (Bosch, KitchenAid, etc…) and add the water and instant yeast. Mix in the egg and 1 cup of flour and beat until smooth. Gradually add in the remaining flour until a soft dough forms.
  • Knead with your mixer 5 minutes or by hand about 10 minutes. Be careful not to over-flour your dough.
  • Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour. 
  • Punch down the dough and divide it in half (this recipe makes two “smaller” King Cakes). 
  • Mix together your filling: butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and divide it in half (a portion for each cake).
  • Using one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough out to a rectangle about 16 inches long, or longer and 6-8 inches wide. Spread the filling over the dough trying to get an even coating over all the dough (this should remind you of making cinnamon rolls).
  • Place your candy on the cake at the edge nearest to you and where you begin to roll.
  • Roll up each rectangle like a jelly-roll and then form a circle by bringing the ends of the roll together and pinching the seams together as you
  • Repeat for the second king cake. You may want to put a small, circular, oven-proof dish in the center of the ring to help keep the circular shape in the middle when baking.
  • Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes until puffy.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes until golden and cooked through. 
  • While the cakes are cooling, mix up the glaze with a spoon or hand mixer. Add a little more cream if glaze is too thick.
  • Add glaze to piping (or ziplock) baggies, cut off the ends and let your kids decorate their cakes!
  • Top with purple, yellow and green sprinkles and have your child guess where their “baby” (or candy in this case) is located in their cake. Enjoy the deliciousness of a Mardi Gras King Cake!

Notes

Serving Size: This recipe makes two small king cakes, each feeding about 8 people. If you want to make one large king cake, use all of the dough and make one large king cake (feeding about 18 people).
Bread Flour: If you don’t have bread flour, you can substitute all purpose flour. If you have vital wheat gluten, add 2-3 teaspoons in with the all purpose flour for a bread flour substitution. 
King Cake Candy: Unwrap any of your favorite candy to hide in the King Cake. Caramel held up the best. Chocolate worked well. Gummy candy dissolved but was still fun.
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Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

3 Comments

  1. Kris Larsen

    It was so much fun tasting these in NOLA last year, and I’m glad you and the kids experienced making them! What a fabulous way to renew their travel memories, as well! Looks delicious!! 👑 🎂 😋

  2. Pingback: King Cake Scones - Amy Bakes Bread

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