Here's the story behind this lucky dessert—and a guide on how to make king cake from scratch.
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When you think of Mardi Gras, you probably think of New Orleans parades, Bourbon Street and people tossing strands of colorful beads into the air. You may see fun New Orleans-inspired recipes all over the internet. But there are traditional Mardi Gras recipes, too—including king cake. We’ll explain what king cake is, why people hide a toy baby in it and how to make it yourself for a festive treat.
What Is King Cake?
King cake—also known as three kings cake or galette des rois, in French—is a sweet pastry that’s part of Mardi Gras celebrations across the country. It’s coated in thick frosting and decorated with colorful sugar sprinkles.
The king cake tradition originated centuries ago in areas such as France and Spain, where wreath-shaped cakes were eaten on King’s Day (January 6) to honor the three kings in the nativity story. When European immigrants made their way to America, they brought along the recipe—though the cakes back then were much simpler than the elaborate green, yellow and purple ones you’ll find in New Orleans’ French Quarter today.
Said to symbolize baby Jesus, the toy baby represents good luck in the coming year. Traditionally, there’s only one hidden inside the cake—whoever finds it is dubbed king or queen for the evening. Along with bragging rights, king-cake royalty means you’re in charge of buying or making the cake for the next year’s Fat Tuesday celebration.
The tradition of hiding objects in the cake dates back to the 19th century, when king cake had become a staple dessert at Mardi Gras celebrations, including the annual balls in New Orleans. Bakers began to hide objects inside the cake. It was usually a fava bean, but sometimes a pecan or even a gold ring! Whoever found the bean would be named the king or queen of the ball.
Fast forward to the 1940s, when a traveling salesman happened to have a surplus of porcelain babies. While in New Orleans, he approached McKenzie’s Bakery—the most successful commercial bakery in the city at the time—and suggested hiding the toy babies in king cake. The idea stuck, although they eventually switched to plastic toy babies.
How to Make King Cake
Here’s how to make your own king cake, based on our Traditional New Orleans King Cake recipe. The recipe makes one cake, which yields about 12 pieces.
Sugar sprinkles: Green, purple and yellow or gold sugar sprinkles will add a festive topping to your king cake.
Toy baby: If you’re following tradition, you’ll need a little toy baby to hide in your king cake. One pack of these metallic king cake babies comes with a dozen—enough to last you for the next 12 years!
Baking sheet: A king cake doesn’t require any special cake pan—all you need is a baking sheet, like the nonstick baking sheets that are part of the Taste of Home cookware and bakeware collection.
Directions
Step 1: Mix the dough
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1/2 cup sugar, butter, milk, egg yolks, salt, lemon zest, nutmeg and 2 cups of flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft, sticky dough.
Editor’s Tip: Before you get started, test your yeast to make sure it’s active enough to leaven your king cake.
Step 2: Let it rise
On a floured surface, knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning it once to grease the top. Cover it and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles, about 1 hour. Punch the dough down.
Step 3: Form the cake
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 16×10-inch rectangle. Combine the cinnamon and remaining sugar and sprinkle the mixture over the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Roll up the dough jelly-roll style, starting with a long side, and pinch the dough to seal the seam. Place the dough seam-side down on a greased baking sheet and pinch the ends together to form a ring. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Brush with egg.
Step 4: Bake
Bake your king cake at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Step 5: Hide the baby (optional)
If you want to hide a toy baby—or another object, like a trinket, coin or dried bean—wait until after the cake is baked and cooled. Otherwise, the object could melt and ooze into your cake.
Insert the baby from the bottom of the cake so that people won’t be able to see where it is.
Step 6: Glaze and decorate
TMB studio
For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and enough water to achieve your desired consistency. Spread the glaze over the cake and sprinkle with colored sugars.
Where to Buy King Cake
Short on time but still want to keep the tradition of having a king cake during Mardi Gras? Try an authentic New Orleans king cake shipped right to your door and ready to decorate. This Gambino’s Bakery Traditional King Cake kit has cinnamon filling and comes with everything you need: icing, sprinkles and toy baby. Throw on some beads, sip a hurricane and get decorating!
Looking for something a bit more suited to your tastes? This Maurice French Pastries King Cake gives you the option to choose your filling before ordering. Cream cheese, chocolate pecan and apple cinnamon are just a few of the choices. Aside from the traditional frosting, sprinkles and toy baby, this kit also comes with festive party additions like a spatula, beads and decorative coins.
Must-Have Mardi Gras Desserts
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New Orleans Beignets
Beignets are an absolute New Orleans staple, and no visit to the city is complete without grabbing a plate at Cafe du Monde. Luckily, there's no travel necessary when you make beignets for your Mardi Gras party. It's important to let the dough rise overnight in the fridge to create the lightest, puffiest beignets possible, so plan ahead.
Go to Recipe
Mardi Gras King CakeWhat is king cake? Although it's called a "cake," this famous Mardi Gras dessert is more of a sweet bread—think cinnamon roll meets coffee cake. Regardless of its name, it's absolutely delicious! To switch things up, swap out the almond cake and pastry filling for cinnamon sugar and cream cheese or fruit and nut fillings like raisins, apples, cherries or pecans.
Bourbon Pecan PralinesOne of our favorite Mardi Gras desserts is pralines, a sugary sweet candy that melts in your mouth. You'll find this treat all over New Orleans, and making it is relatively simple. Heating the ingredients to the soft-ball stage (236°F) may sound intimidating, but it's easy to do with a candy thermometer.
Bananas Foster SundaesIt's said that this dessert was created at Brennan's Vieux Carré Restaurant on Bourbon Street as a way to use up excess bananas. The dish is often made tableside with a technique called flambé where rum is lit on fire in an impressive performance. We skip the theatrics with this dessert and make it on the stovetop—no fire extinguisher needed to enjoy this tasty treat.
Mardi Gras CupcakesThese festive cupcakes capture the spirit of the classic Mardi Gras king cake—decorated purple, green and gold to represent justice, faith and power—but their miniature form makes them easier to serve. Separating the batter to mix with flavored gelatin adds to the fun, and layering the cupcakes creates a gorgeous color contrast.
Turtle Praline TartThis five-ingredient dessert looks like it took hours to make, but it actually couldn't be easier. The pie crust needs to be prebaked, but the remaining ingredients set up in the refrigerator to create a no-bake tart. Get ready to hand out the recipe, because this is one of those Mardi Gras desserts that gets gobbled up fast!
Majestic Pecan CakePecan trees are native to the American south, which explains why they're such a popular ingredient in Mardi Gras desserts. This three-layer cake uses these rich, buttery nuts to create a celebration-worthy cake. It's made completely from scratch (including the frosting), so it takes a little effort, but it's well worth it when you take your first bite.
Bananas Foster on the GrillTaking this classic New Orleans dessert to the barbecue gives the bananas grill marks that look gorgeous when you bring this dish to the table. Just be sure to keep your bananas inside the peel when you slice them in half. The fruit will soften and turn mushy (in a good way) as it cooks, and it would be a real pain to turn the bananas without the peel providing a little structure.
Chewy Pecan Pie BarsNot all Mardi Gras parties involve sitting around a table. You might be up dancing or playing games instead. These pecan pie bars are perfect if you want a dessert that can move with your guests. They taste exactly like pecan pie, but they're handheld and easy to eat. Of course, you could serve them on a plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, too.
Springtime Beignets & BerriesThese deep-fried doughy delights get a burst of freshness when they're served with fresh berries. To customize the recipe for your Mardi Gras party, add purple, green and gold sprinkles to the whipped cream before serving. Or color the powdered sugar with decorating dust and dust the platter in three different waves.
Rum Raisin Creme BruleeCrème brûlée is a fabulous party treat because it looks like an elegant restaurant dessert (but it's pretty easy to make at home). Infuse those already fantastic flavors with rum-soaked raisins, and you have the perfect Mardi Gras dessert! You can use a handheld culinary butane torch to create the sugary exterior or pop the dishes under the broiler. (Just make sure you use a broiler-safe ramekin, of course.)
Bananas Foster GelatoThis brilliant recipe captures all the flavors of bananas Foster in a convenient frozen form. Hosting a dinner party can be stressful, especially when you're also busy putting up Mardi Gras decorations! Gelato is easy to make in advance, and it stores in the freezer until you're ready for dessert. Keep it in an airtight container and place a piece of plastic wrap between the gelato and the lid to keep it from developing freezer burn.
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Monkey BreadWe love monkey bread, but it's even more delicious when the dough balls are stuffed with chocolate and baked with bourbon-infused chocolate and caramel sauces. The homemade dough is light and fluffy, but it can be a little time-consuming. As a shortcut, use a couple cans of refrigerated biscuit dough instead.
King Cake with Cream Cheese FillingThis shortcut king cake recipe comes together in about 45 minutes, making it ideal as a last-minute Mardi Gras dessert option. The sugary cream cheese filling is packed with warm cinnamon, and the refrigerated crescent roll dough crisps up beautifully in the oven. Top it off with a few drizzles of colorful icing, and this one is a winner!
Favorite Chocolate-Bourbon Pecan TartPecan pie has a special place in our hearts, but we'll never say no to a tart version that's loaded with chocolate and bourbon. This tart can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator; just bring the dish to room temperature before serving. It can also be frozen for three months and thawed overnight in the fridge.
Candied PecansPecans are a quintessential part of southern cooking, and candying them in butter and sugar creates a light but flavorful dessert. Make sure you spread the pecans out in an even layer on the baking sheet before popping them in the oven, or they won't toast evenly. As a bonus, any leftovers can be used on a salad for lunch tomorrow.
Banana Bread PuddingIs bread pudding a breakfast or a dessert? Both! This recipe uses pieces of bananas to amp up the bananas Foster vibe, so it's a wonderful dessert for a Mardi Gras dinner party. We wouldn't be upset if it was served during a Mardi Gras brunch, either.
Frosted Anise Sugar CookiesAnise-flavored spirits like Ojen are often served at Mardi Gras celebrations, so why not double down on that unique licorice flavor by infusing it into dessert? These cookies take about 40 minutes to prepare, but plan enough time to let them cool fully before adding the icing. Pick up some Mardi Gras-themed sprinkles and have fun!
Berry-Filled DoughnutsA filled doughnut called packzi is one of the most famous Fat Tuesday snacks, so berry-filled doughnuts absolutely fit the bill for your next Mardi Gras dessert platter. There's no need to make the dough from scratch, either; you'll be amazed at how well refrigerated biscuit dough works here! By the time you dust them with confectioners' sugar, no one will be the wiser.
Margarita CakeExtravagant drinks are a big part of Mardi Gras, and this cake captures all the flavor of a margarita without any of the booze. If you can't find the frozen margarita mix called for in the recipe, substitute a can of frozen limeade or liquid margarita mix instead. Don’t forget to check out our collection of the best Mardi Gras drinks.
Praline CookiesThese cookies achieve the perfect balance between crisp bottoms and chewy interiors, and the pop of pecan flavor shines through with every bite. They taste incredible with the sugary icing, but we've also served them without it and didn't receive any complaints.
Bread Pudding with Bourbon SauceThis slow cooker dessert recipe is a lifesaver if you're struggling to get everything together for a Mardi Gras party. The bread pudding is completely hands-off, cooking in about three hours on low in the slow cooker, freeing you up to work on the event's other components. When it comes time to serve, bring the sauce ingredients to a boil, scoop the bread pudding into cups or bowls and drizzle on the sauce.
Banana Cream EclairsIf doughnuts are served at most Fat Tuesday celebrations, we think éclairs also belong on the Mardi Gras desserts menu—especially when they bring a strong bananas Foster energy! If you end up with extra banana whipped cream after filling the puffs, serve it on the side with fresh berries or use it to top coffee or hot chocolate.
Banana-Hazelnut Pain Perdu DuetPain perdu is basically a fancy name for French toast, and this recipe combines some of our favorite Mardi Gras desserts into one dish. It has a cream cheese filling like king cake and brown-sugared bananas like bananas Foster. It could easily be served for brunch, but we love it for dessert, too.
As both a freelance lifestyle writer and editor for a national teen magazine, Amanda spends most of her time creating #content. In those (rare) moments when she's not at her desk typing furiously, she's likely teaching a hot yoga class, reading the latest chick-lit or baking a batch of her famous scones.
A former associate editor for Taste of Home, Teddy specialized in SEO strategy. As a home cook herself, she loves finding inspiration at the farmer's market. She also enjoys doing any sport that involves water and taking long walks with her black lab mix, Berkeley.
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Updated: Jan. 04, 2023
