The Perfect Mardi Gras King Cake with Pecan Praline Filling

King Cake with pecan praline filling is a delicious yeast coffee cake formed into an oval or ring decorated with icing and bands of purple, green, and yellow sanding sugar.  It is a staple in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. No Mardi Gras party is complete without it!

Jump to:

• What is a King Cake?
• How do you make a King Cake?
• Colored sugars represent?
• My Family's King Cake Tradition
• Cake Ingredients
• How to make the cake
• Filling Ingredients
• How to Toast Pecans
• How to make the pecan praline filling
• Cake assembly
• Vanilla Glaze Ingredients
• Vanilla Glaze Instructions
• More on Sanding Sugars
• Decorate the cake
• Variations
• Substitutions
• Storage
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

What is a King Cake?

King Cakes are a cross between a coffee cake and a French pastry. They are popular in New Orleans from January 6 through Fat Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday). During this time, it is a staple at parties and worksites. In most grocery stores or bakeries in New Orleans throughout the carnival season, King Cakes are available for purchase. However, they are easy to make at home with a little extra time.

How do you make a King Cake?

First, fill a yeast dough with pecan praline, cinnamon sugar, cream cheese, or cream cheese and fruit. Then, shape the dough into an oval or ring and bake it. Once the cake has cooled, ice it with a vanilla glaze. Finally, sprinkle purple, yellow, and green sanding sugars on the glaze to give the cake its distinguished look.

Often, a tiny plastic baby or trinket is baked on the cake. In New Orleans, the tradition is that whoever finds the baby will be the king or queen and host the next Mardi Gras party.

Colored sugars represent?

In New Orleans, King Cakes are decorated with the colored sugars associated with Mardi Gras. The colors represent the following:

• Gold represents power
• Green represents faith
• Purple represents justice.

My Family's King Cake Tradition

I attended a conference in New Orleans many years ago during Mardi Gras. During my visit, a colleague served a King Cake and shared the tradition of eating King Cake during Mardi Gras. I loved the cake and custom so much that I have made a King Cake every year.

King Cakes are made with various fillings; however, pecan praline is our favorite filling. Even though serving King Cake from January 6 through Fat Tuesday is customary, I make it on Fat Tuesday the day before Ash Wednesday.

Since the cake has similar ingredients to cinnamon rolls, I make it a decadent breakfast treat. I prepare the dough the night before, proof it, fill the cake with pecan praline filling, form it into a ring, and refrigerate it overnight.

Early the following morning, I bake and frost the King Cake for my family to enjoy before school or work. It is the perfect indulgent treat for Fat Tuesday breakfast, and they loved it.

Fun with a Hidden Coin

One of the reasons this cake is so popular in our household is that I bake it with a coin hidden in the cake. Every year, they are excited to see who will win the coin. It is a fun way to start the day!

Bake a King Cake for your family! I bet it is a hit and will be a tradition, just like it is for my family. Happy Baking!

Cake Ingredients

• Sour Cream- Full-fat or reduced-fat sour cream works. Yogurt can be substituted for sour cream.
• Butter- Use unsalted butter.
• Salt- Use Kosher salt in this recipe. You can use fine-grain table salt. However, use half the amount.
• Sugar-white granulated sugar works the best in this recipe. You could try using an equal amount of honey; however, I have not tested the recipe with honey.
• Yeast-Instant, rapid rise, or active yeast all work in this recipe.
• Flour- Both white-bleached all-purpose or white unbleached all-purpose flour work equally for this yeasted cake.

How to make the cake

1. Combine sour cream, butter, salt, and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a pan. Heat until the butter has melted.
2. Combine remaining sugar, yeast, and warm water.
3. Combine sour cream mixture and yeast mixture in a bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attached. Add flour until a soft dough forms.
4. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl (or spray with cooking spray). Cover and place in a warm place until it has doubled.

Proofing Tip: If your kitchen is cold or you wish to speed up the proofing, place the dough in the oven. On the rack below the dough, place a pan of boiling water.

Filling Ingredients

While the dough is proofing, make the filling.

• Cream Cheese- Full-fat cream cheese works the best to make the filling because it yields a thicker consistency. Reduced-fat cream cheese will work; however, it will not be as thick.
• Pecans- Chopped pecans add flavor to the filling. If you want to go the extra step and add additional flavor, toast the pecans. Be sure to cool them before using them. If your family does not like nuts, leave them out of the recipe.
• Egg- A large or medium size egg works the best.
• Brown Sugar-The molasses in the brown sugar adds extra flavor to the filling. In a pinch, you can substitute white granulated sugar. I would not substitute honey or maple syrup because the extra fluid will make the filling too thin, and it will bake out of the cake.
• Vanilla and Cinnamon add flavor to the filling. Be sure to include them in the filling!

How to make the pecan praline filling

Place all the filling ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until combined and creamy.

Pro Tip-To ensure that the filling is smooth and creamy, the cream cheese and egg should be at room temperature.

Cake assembly

After the cake has risen, it is time to fill it.

1. Roll out the dough into a rectangle.
2. Distribute the filling on the dough.
3. Sprinkle the pecans on the filling.
4. On the long side, roll the dough into a log.
5. Form an oval, pinch the ends together, and place the cake on a pan.
6. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise. Note: If you plan to eat the cake for breakfast, place the cake in the refrigerator overnight.

Pro Tip: The internal temperature of the cake should be 190°F,

9. Once the cake has cooled, insert the coin into the bottom of the cake.

Vanilla Glaze Ingredients

To make the vanilla glaze, you will need the following ingredients:

• Powdered sugar-you don't need to sift the sugar before making the glaze.
• Milk-use any milk that you have on hand. Heavy cream and half-and-half work well, too.
• Vanilla extract-Pure vanilla extract gives the best flavor; however, it is expensive. Therefore, you can use any vanilla extract you have on hand in your pantry.
• Sanding sugars-You will need purple, green, and yellow sanding sugar.

Vanilla Glaze Instructions

Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and enough of the milk to make a glaze.

More on Sanding Sugars

These are the sanding sugars that I like to use. You can find them in the cake aisle at specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods.

The most cost-effective way is to make your own. First, put ½ cup white granulated sugar in a sealable plastic bag. Add a few drops of the appropriate color of food coloring. Seal the bag and massage the food coloring into the sugar until you get a dark shade of the color.

Decorate the cake

Frost the cake with the vanilla glaze and quickly sprinkle bands of the colored sanding sugar on the cake.

Pro Tip: The sanding sugar will not stick to the glaze if it has stiffened and dry.

Slice a piece of the King Cake and enjoy it with a mug of piping hot coffee or hot chocolate!

Variations

How to make Mini King Cakes

A fun variation is to make mini King Cakes.

1. After adding the filling to the dough and rolling it into a log, cut the log into 2" pieces.
2. Place each piece in a 12-count muffin tin that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
3. Cover the mini cakes and let them rise for one hour or refrigerate them overnight.
4. The next day, bake them in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes until they are lightly brown.
5. Let them cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes and then place them on a cooling rack.
6. Frost the mini cakes with the vanilla glaze and decorate with colored sugars.

Enjoy these tasty King Cakes! There is no better way to enjoy Fat Tuesday than to start your day with a miniature King Cake!

Filling Variations

In addition to pecan-praline filling, you will find King Cakes made with various delicious fillings. They include cinnamon and sugar, cream cheese and fruit jam, and chocolate.

Substitutions

Flour-King Arthur gluten-free flour can be substituted 1:1 for the flour in this recipe.

Walnuts can be substituted for pecans.

Storage

Cover the cake and store it for up to 3 days at room temperature or 7 days in the refrigerator.

The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. However, freeze it without frosting it. After the cake has thawed, ice it with vanilla glaze and sanding sugars.

I hope you try this recipe! Please rate it and comment below. I love hearing from you! ❤️

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