Toss mini king cakes into your Mardi Gras party bag | Chula King

Chula King
·5 min read

Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, which is Feb. 21 this year, is a popular holiday celebrated in many countries worldwide. In the U.S., Mardi Gras celebrations are best known for the vibrant parades, music, costumes, and delicious food from New Orleans.

One of the most iconic treats of Mardi Gras is the King Cake, a sweet pastry made with a rich buttery dough, filled with sugar and cinnamon, topped with frosting, and finished with purple, green, and yellow sprinkles.

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King Cake, a sweet pastry made with a rich buttery dough, is filled with sugar and cinnamon, topped with frosting, and finished with purple, green, and yellow sprinkles.
King Cake, a sweet pastry made with a rich buttery dough, is filled with sugar and cinnamon, topped with frosting, and finished with purple, green, and yellow sprinkles.

For those who want to enjoy the traditional taste of King Cake but on a smaller scale, these mini-King Cakes are the perfect solution. Mini-King Cakes are a bite-sized portion of the classic dessert, making them a fun and convenient option for Mardi Gras parties, festivities, or just a sweet treat for yourself.

Another feature of these mini-King Cakes is their portability and ease of serving. I like to package my mini-King Cakes in plastic bags tied with purple, green, and yellow ribbon with Mardi Gras beads for an added treat.

Another feature of this recipe is using a bread machine to make the dough. Just add the dough ingredients to the bread machine pan, select the dough cycle, and walk away.

So why not make these mini-King Cakes for your Mardi Gras Celebrations this year and enjoy this delicious tradition in a new and exciting way?

The dough for mini king cakes can be made in a bread machine.
The dough for mini king cakes can be made in a bread machine.

Mini-King Cakes Recipe

Makes 24

Special equipment: Bread machine and mini-Bundt cake pan

Ingredients

Mini-King Cake Dough

1 large egg, lightly beaten

¼ cup water (the egg plus the water should weigh 4 ounces, 114 grams)

½ teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons (1 ounce, 29 grams) of unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (8 ounces, 227 grams) sour cream

3 ½ Tablespoons (1.75 ounces, 50 grams) of granulated sugar

3 ½ cups (17.5 ounces, 496 grams) all-purpose flour

2 ½ teaspoons (0.37 ounces, 11 grams) bread machine yeast

Sugar/Cinnamon Filling

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

½ cup (3.5 ounces) granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Frosting

2 cups (8 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

1 ½ tablespoons light corn syrup

2 tablespoon milk (more or less, as needed to reach desired consistency)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Purple, green, and yellow sprinkles

Directions

Mini King Cake Dough

Add the dough ingredients to the bread machine in the order listed. Select the dough cycle and start the machine. After five minutes of mixing, check the dough and add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of water or flour if the dough is too dry or wet.

Sugar/Cinnamon Mixture

Mix together the sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside along with the melted butter.

Frosting

Beat together confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, milk, and vanilla extract to the desired consistency. Cover until ready to use.

Mini King Cakes

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray the mini-Bundt cake pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

When the dough cycle finishes, cut the dough in half. Use half of the dough for the mini-king cakes and the other half for another purpose, like rolls.

Roll the retained half of the dough on a floured surface to approximately 13 inches by 17 ounces. Trim to a neat rectangle that is 12 inches by 16 inches.

Brush the dough with the melted butter and sprinkle on the sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut four 4-inch-wide strips width-wise from the dough. Then cut each of the strips into three 4-inch-wide strips. You will have a total of 12 strips that are 4 inches by 4 inches.

Cut each dough strip in half (2 inches by 4 inches). You will now have 24 rectangles, 2 inches by 4 inches.

Roll each of the 2 x 4-inch rectangles, jelly-roll fashion, into little logs. Bring the ends together and pinch the dough to seal the seam. Place in the prepared mini-Bundt pan and press down slightly. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 14 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

Dip each mini-King Cake in the frosting, allowing the excess to drip off. Sprinkle on purple, green, and yellow sprinkles.

Yield: 24 mini-King Cakes.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

  • If you don't have a bread machine, you can use a stand mixer or a food processor to make the dough for the mini-King Cakes.

  • You can omit the corn syrup from the frosting recipe and replace it with milk. However, one benefit of the frosting recipe with the corn syrup is that the exterior hardens, making it easy to package these tasty treats.

  • I used a Nordic Ware Brownie Bundt pan for the mini-King Cakes. You could also use a regular muffin pan.

  • For a quick and easy variation on making mini-King Cakes, use store-bought, 8-count cinnamon rolls. Press the cinnamon rolls into the mini-Bundt pan and bake according to the package directions. Remove from the oven. While the mini cakes are still warm, frost them with the supplied frosting and sprinkle with purple, green, and yellow sprinkles.

Chula King
Chula King

Chula King is the blogger behind PudgeFactor.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Celebrate Mardi Gras with beads and bite-size king cakes