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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.

A mini king cake topped with white drizzled icing and green, orange, and purple sugar on a cake stand surrounded by a gold cloth and mardi gras beads

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.

RELATED: 15 Easy Dessert Recipes For One

An overhead view of a mini king cake topped with white drizzled icing and green, orange, and purple sugar on a cake stand surrounded by a gold cloth, mardi gras beads, and a purple and gold feather mask

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

What Is A King Cake?

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.

When Does Mardi Gras Season Begin?

The Mardi Gras season officially begins on January 6, which is the Feast of the Epiphany and also known as Twelfth Night.

What Is A King Cake Baby?

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.

What Do The Mardi Gras Colors Mean?

The color purple symbolizes justice, green symbolizes faith, and gold means peace.

How Do You Store A King Cake?

This king cake keeps well in the refrigerator but is best eaten in a day or so after baking it.

RELATED: 20 Single Serving Meatless Meals

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.
four photos showing the steps to make a king cake
  • 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.
A slice of king cake topped with white icing and purple, green, and orange sugar

RELATED: 15 Single Serving Breakfast Recipes Worth Waking Up To

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:

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

Mini Cake Recipes

If you like this mini king cake recipe, you might also like to try these small cake recipes:

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.

If you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!


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Recipe

Mini King Cake

4.73 from 11 votes
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Cool: 10 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
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.

Ingredients 
 

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 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)
    King Cake | One Dish Kitchen
  • Roll the dough out so that it forms one long piece of dough.
    King Cake Dough | One Dish Kitchen
  • Shape the dough into a circle and gently press the edges of the circle together.
    King Cake | One Dish Kitchen
  • Place the dough on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden.
    Mini King Cake | One Dish Kitchen

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

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. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 335kcal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 77mg, Sodium: 295mg, Potassium: 172mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 25g, Vitamin A: 465IU, Vitamin C: 2.5mg, Calcium: 92mg, Iron: 1.7mg

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.

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11 Comments

      1. Hi Joanie,
        In response to her question, is the finished texture of this cake “dunk-able”, perhaps? I’m thinking, maybe leave off the icing and dunking individual slices into a cream cheese fruit dip… if it’s just the taste preference she’s after.
        Thoughts?
        Interested to see your response.

  1. 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!

  2. I agree if you haven’t DONE Mardi Gras in New Orleans, you need to move it to the top of your bucket list.

  3. 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

    1. I’m so happy you enjoyed the King Cake and the Jambalaya recipes! Thank you so much for letting me know.