A festive King Cake for Mardi Gras, baked in a bundt pan and decorated with colored sanding sugars and filled with a pecan, brown sugar, and cinnamon swirl.
How To Make King Bundt Cake ?
Fat Tuesday is tomorrow, which means it's time for a festive Mardi Gras recipe! I made king cake for the first time five years ago, and while it was delicious.
This bundt cake version has had me drooling for well over a year. When Joseph awoke at a ridiculously early hour on Saturday morning,
I decided it was the perfect opportunity to finally make it happen. Although it takes some time to prepare, the majority of that time is spent inactively rising and baking; it's actually a fairly simple recipe to put together and one that is absolutely, positively worth your time.
I had a piece for breakfast yesterday and pretty much died and went to heaven.
Traditional king cakes are baked with a plastic baby inside, and it is said that whoever gets the piece with the baby will be blessed. I didn't use one, but if you do, simply place it on top of the dough before rolling it up and sealing it shut.
If you aren't celebrating Mardi Gras, leave out the colored sanding sugars and serve this for your next brunch or book club… The sweet, buttery brioche dough combined with the pecan/brown sugar/cinnamon swirl creates a perfect breakfast pastry, similar to a cinnamon roll or danish pastry.
I believe that this is the superior recipe of the two kings cakes that I've made.
Create it today, tomorrow, or next week… It's truly a perfect cake for any occasion!
MANY IDEAS FOR BEAUTIFUL BIRTHDAY CAKE DECORATIONS FOR INSPIRATION
PrintKing Bundt Cake Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Description
A festive King Cake for Mardi Gras, baked in a Bundt pan and decorated with sanding sugars, filled with a pecan, brown sugar, and cinnamon swirl.
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 cup (244 ml) whole milk
- 3 eggs
- 8 tbsp. melted unsalted butter
- 4½ cups all-purpose flour (562.5 g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar(100 g)
- 2¼ teaspoons (2.25 teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast
- 1 tbsp. salt
For the Filling:
- 1¼ cups (123.75 g) pecans, toasted and ground fine
- ¾ cup light brown sugar(165 g)
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
For the Topping:
- 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 tbsp each yellow, green, and purple colored decorating sugars
Instructions
- Prepare the Dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the milk, eggs, and melted butter. Stir in the flour, granulated sugar, yeast, and salt with a wooden spoon until just combined (the mixture will be fairly dry and shaggy). Connect the bowl to a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. 10 minutes of mixing on medium-low speed (the dough will be soft and slightly tacky). Transfer the dough to a greased mixing bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature to rise until doubled in size, about 11/2 to 2 hours.
- Assemble the Cake: Grease a 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan. In a medium bowl, combine the pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Roll out the dough into an 18 by 14-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface, with the long side parallel to the counter edge. Spray lightly with water (or sprinkle with water and lightly spread it around with your fingers), and sprinkle evenly with the pecan mixture. Roll the dough away from you into a log and pinch along seam to seal. Form into a ring and seal the ends together. Place seam side up into the prepared Bundt pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle position.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until deep golden brown and an instant read digital thermometer reads 190 degrees in the center. Rotate halfway through baking. Allow 10 minutes for the cake to cool in the pan before removing it from the pan and placing it seam side down on a wire rack to cool completely, about 2 hours.
- To make the topping, in a mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons milk until smooth. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake. Sprinkle half of the yellow sugar over one-sixth of the top, then repeat on the opposite side. To make alternating bands of color, repeat with green and purple sugars. Allow to cool before serving. Wrap leftovers tightly and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
514 calories, 82 grams of carbohydrates, 8 grams of protein, 17 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 63 milligrams of cholesterol, 227 milligrams of sodium, 182 milligrams of potassium, 3 grams of fiber, 44 grams of sugar, 340IU of vitamin A, 0.1 milligrams of vitamin C, 70 milligrams of calcium, and 2.8 milligrams of iron
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: cake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 514
Keywords: Easy cake, King Bundt Cake Recipe
Four years ago: Red Velvet Cheesecake