King Cake

Melissa Martin’s version of the king cake was inspired by the one her mother used, from a well-worn bread recipe she kept tacked up inside a kitchen cabinet. She fills the braided yeast dough with cinnamon sugar, shapes it into a ring, and bakes it into a cake that is a cross between a cinnamon roll and coffee cake. She tops the cooled pastry ring with cream cheese icing, then sprinkles it with sanding sugars in the traditional Mardi Gras colors: gold, purple, and green. This is a big cake and truly at its best eaten the same day it’s baked — perfect for a celebration. 

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

This recipe uses a good amount of yeast, so keep an eye on it so you can see when the dough has doubled, and don’t let the dough rise for longer than the recommended time. To help judge when dough has doubled, place a piece of tape on the bowl to mark the dough’s level at the start of rising.

Make sure to seal the edges of the cinnamon sugar–filled ropes well to avoid the sugar seeping out and burning while the cake bakes.