Celebrate Mardi Gras with this Mini King Cake recipe. A perfectly sweet, festive, tender, and delicious king cake drizzled with icing and topped with colored sugar. Easy to make and the perfect size for serving one or two people.
King cakes and Mardi Gras go hand in hand - you just don't have one without the other.
I grew up in New Orleans and around this time every year, I get an intense longing to go back. There's no bigger party than Mardi Gras!
If you've never celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans, you simply must put it on your travel bucket list. There's just no other party like it anywhere.
If you aren't planning a trip any time soon, be sure to put this festive mini king cake on your menu so that you can bring a part of the celebration into your own home.
Why This Recipe Works
I've been making king cakes for many years, but this year I decided to make a small king cake that would serve just a few people instead of the traditional cakes that serve eight to ten people
If you would like to make a large king cake, be sure to check out my other King Cake recipe.
When I began to work on scaling down the ingredients for this small king cake, I ran into a little trouble.
Scaling down recipes isn't always easy, especially with baked goods. I wanted to create a wonderful tasting king cake and I wanted it to be easy for you to make. I also wanted to make sure the ingredients were easily accessible and could be made in a short amount of time.
Because of these reasons, this mini king cake is different than my original but believe me, it's every bit as tasty.
The dough is more like a scone or a crumb coffee cake than a soft pastry. It's got a nice cinnamon flavor and is only slightly sweet as a scone might be.
When working on this recipe, I envisioned this king cake being enjoyed with coffee or tea either in the morning or as an afternoon treat.
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Ingredient Notes
See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour. I have not tested this recipe with any other type of flour.
- Granulated Sugar: Just 3 tablespoons of sugar is all you need for the cake.
- Baking powder and baking soda: To give the king cake a little lift.
- Cinnamon and salt: For flavor.
- Butter: Use cold salted butter.
- Egg yolk: One egg yolk is all that is needed, be sure to see below for ways to use the leftover egg white.
- Milk: Adds moisture to the cake. Use any percentage of cow's milk, almond, or soy milk.
- Orange juice and orange zest: These ingredients add a wonderful flavor to the king cake.
- Confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar) and milk or cream: For the glaze.
- Granulated sugar and food coloring: For the colored sugar use purple, green, and yellow food coloring. These are the colors of Mardi Gras.
Frequently Asked Questions
A King Cake is a round cake associated with Mardi Gras and is rich in history and rooted in tradition.
King Cakes are typically enjoyed during the Carnival season.
Originally, King Cakes were more similar to bread dough and they weren't nearly as sweet as they are today.
In the 1980s bakers began to fill the King Cakes with fillings such as cream cheese, fruit fillings, and pastry fillings. But many people still enjoy the traditional unfilled King Cake which is always topped with purple, green, and gold or yellow-colored sugar.
The Mardi Gras season officially begins on January 6, which is the Feast of the Epiphany and also known as Twelfth Night.
Traditionally, a little plastic baby is inserted into the king cake and the person who receives the slice with the baby should bring the king cake to the next gathering.
I haven't been able to purchase one or two plastic babies, I can only order them in large quantities so I use a large pecan instead or I will not use anything.
The color purple symbolizes justice, green symbolizes faith, and gold means peace.
This king cake keeps well in the refrigerator but is best eaten in a day or so after baking it.
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How To Make This Recipe
- Step 1: Make the dough
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, sugar, and cinnamon.
- Cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture looks like fine crumbs.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, milk, orange juice, and orange zest.
- Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
- Step 2
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
- Knead very lightly and form a circle. (Add a little more flour to the dough if the dough becomes too sticky to handle).
- Roll the dough out so that it forms one long piece of dough.
- Shape the dough into a circle and gently press the edges of the circle together. Place the dough on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes.
- Step 3: Make the king cake icing and colored sugar.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioner's sugar and the milk. Drizzle over the top of the cooled King Cake.
- Make the colored sugar by placing 1 tablespoon of the sugar into three small bowls. Add in 1 to 2 drops of the food coloring in each bowl. Make a separate bowl for the purple, the green, and the gold (yellow) sugars. Spoon a little of each of the the colored sugars over the icing.
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Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this mini king cake recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Egg white: Meringues, Two Vanilla Cupcakes, Two Chocolate Cupcakes, Mini Texas Sheet Cake
- Orange juice: Orange Oatmeal Cake, Cranberry Orange Scones, Slow Cooker Orange Chicken, Cranberry Jam
- Powdered sugar: Apple Fritters, Frosted Sugar Cookies, Peanut Butter Pie, Mini Hummingbird Cake
- Food coloring: Shamrock Shake, Red Velvet Donuts, Sugarplums
Expert Tips
- Remember, this is a scone-like king cake. The texture is different than that of a traditional king cake.
- Be sure to use cold ingredients.
- Don’t overwork the dough.
- If you're making this cake for a different holiday, you might like to use other colors. For instance, use red or pink sugar for Valentine's Day, green for St. Patrick's Day, or a combination of red and green for Christmas.
Other New Orleans Inspired Recipes
- Red Beans and Rice For One
- Shrimp Creole For One
- Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya For One
- Crawfish Beignets - A Small Batch Recipe
- Crawfish Pasta For One
- Gumbo For One
- Crawfish Étouffée For One
Mini Cake Recipes
If you like this mini king cake recipe, you might also like to try these small cake recipes:
- Mini Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake
- Mini Pound Cake
- Mini Pineapple Sheet Cake
- Mini Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Mini Spice Cake
- Mini Devil's Food Cake
- Mini Hummingbird Cake
- Mini Texas Sheet Cake
For more information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
If you’ve tried this mini king cake recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
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Recipe
Mini King Cake
See the post above for expert tips,
FAQs and ways to use leftover ingredients.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup salted butter , cold (4 tablespoons)
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
FOR THE GLAZE
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 ½ tablespoons milk or cream
FOR THE COLORED SUGAR
- 3 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1-2 drops purple, green, and yellow food coloring
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C)
- Line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt, and baking soda
- Using a pastry blender or your hands, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture looks like fine crumbs.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, milk, orange juice, and orange zest. Pour into the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead very lightly and form a circle. (Add a little more flour to the dough if the dough becomes too sticky to handle)
- Roll the dough out so that it forms one long piece of dough.
- Shape the dough into a circle and gently press the edges of the circle together.
- Place the dough on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden.
TO MAKE THE GLAZE
- In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioner's sugar and the milk.Drizzle over the top of the cooled King Cake.
TO MAKE THE COLORED SUGAR
- Place 1 tablespoon of the sugar into three small bowls. Add in 1 to 2 drops of the food coloring in each bowl. Make a separate bowl for the purple, the green, and the gold sugars.Spoon a little of each of the the colored sugars over the icing.
Notes
- Remember, this is a scone-like king cake. The texture is different than that of a traditional king cake.
- Be sure to use cold ingredients.
- Don’t overwork the dough.
- If you're making this cake for a different holiday, you might like to use other colors. For instance, use red or pink sugar for Valentine's Day, green for St. Patrick's Day, or a combination of red and green for Christmas.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Rebecca J Duckworth says
If I want to make a cream cheese filling, how would I go about doing that?
Joanie Zisk says
I don't recommend a filling for this particular king cake recipe. The king cake is more like a scone, rather than a soft dough cake. I have a larger king cake recipe that I make every year for crowds that I can recommend. This king cake is not a single serving but it is definitely delicious and has a cream cheese filling: https://zagleft.com/traditional-mardi-gras-king-cake-recipe/
Jill Davies says
I made four of these to give to other people. I did have to add more flour to be able to knead the dough, it was very wet. I also had to thicken up the glaze quite a bit for it to be like the picture on your blog which is much prettier than the first one I did with the thinner glaze. I rechecked my measurements and actually made two separate batches because I wasn't sure if I was going to make two or four. It was the same both times. But with the extra flour and powdered sugar for the glaze I am glad I made them. Thanks!
Iggy says
Awesome! Easy; came out perfect; ideal size for family of 4-5!!
James Jordan says
I agree if you haven't DONE Mardi Gras in New Orleans, you need to move it to the top of your bucket list.
MaryKay Lawrence says
Another winner! It was the perfect finish to your Jambalaya recipe. I would for go the colored sugar next time....making them was a bit fussy for me but a sprinkle of raw sugar would work well. It has wonderful flavor and was really good with our morning coffee. Thank you again!
MK
Joanie Zisk says
I'm so happy you enjoyed the King Cake and the Jambalaya recipes! Thank you so much for letting me know.
krissy says
This turned out to be a fun baking project for my kids and I! It also tasted delicious!
Milisa says
Love this for Mardi Gras! So bright and will definitely satisfy my craving for King Cake!