Soft and Delicious Sourdough King Cake

This post may contain affiliate links. We may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting us.

King cake is such a classic treat during Mardi Gras season in the south. It’s available at all the local grocery stores and some bakeries even try their hand at making them. This sourdough king cake has the added benefit of gut-friendly bacteria and can be baked in your own home. It can be difficult to get a king cake shipped to your home if you don’t live in the south, so this is a great way to enjoy one! Now, let’s get to baking!

Equipment

Stand mixer
Dough whisk
Scale or measuring cups and spoons
Cutting board
Rolling pin
9×13 baking dish

Ingredients

King cake is basically like a giant cinnamon roll, so you will need all of the typical cinnamon roll ingredients plus a few extra items.

Dough

200 g (1 cup) active sourdough starter
200 g (3/4 cup) whole milk
2 eggs
113 g (8 tablespoons) butter, melted
100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
6 g (1 tsp) salt
636 g (5 1/3 cups) all purpose flour

Cinnamon Sugar

31 g (1/4 cup) all purpose flour
113 g (8 tablespoons) butter, melted or very softened
327 g (1.5 cups) brown sugar, packed
24 g (3 tbsp) cinnamon

Cream Cheese Filling (Optional)

227 g (8 oz) cream cheese
71 g (5 tbsp) butter
9 g (2 tsp) vanilla extract
254 g (2 cups) powdered sugar

Icing

254 g (2 cups) powdered sugar
14 g (1 tbsp) butter, melted
30 g (2 tbsp) whole milk
9 g (2 tsp) vanilla extract
Mardi Gras colored sprinkles or food coloring (optional!)

Instructions

First, add all the dough ingredient except the flour to the stand mixer and beat together until well-incorporated.
Next, attach the dough hook attachment to the stand mixer, add the flour and knead on low for 10 minutes or until the dough is fairly smooth.
Place the dough in a glass bowl and cover with a towel or non-airtight lid.
Let the dough rise on the counter for 10-12 hours or until doubled in size.
Next, the dough can be placed in the refrigerator for a cold ferment for around 12 hours. This step is completely optional but adds a nice tang to the dough.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
At this point you can make your cinnamon sugar filling. Add the ingredients to your stand mixer and beat together using the paddle attachment. Set this to the side.
Then, place the dough onto a floured surface.
Divide the dough in half to be shaped into two separate king cakes. You can also make one very large king cake if you’d like. I like to make two separate king cakes so I can add a different filling to each!
Take one portion of dough and roll out into a rectangle approximately 14″ by 10″.
Spread half the cinnamon sugar filling over the dough if you split it into two and all of the cinnamon sugar if you are making one big king cake.
Next, roll the dough up just like a cinnamon roll.
Then, connect the ends of the dough to make a ring shape. You just want to press the dough together as best as you can – it won’t be perfect.
Place the king cakes (or king cake) on a 9×13 baking pan and bake in the oven for around 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.
Now, you can make your cream cheese filling if you are deciding to fill your king cake. Simply add all the ingredients to a stand mixer and beat together using the paddle attachment until smooth.
Let the king cake cool for at least an hour or so.
Next, you can cut your king cakes in half and spread the filling inside.
Finally, add the icing ingredients to your stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment until smooth.
Drizzle the icing over the king cakes. You can also add the traditional green, purple and yellow colored sprinkles or you can use food dye to create green, purple and yellow icing! We prefer to steer clear of the food dyes so we keep ours plain.