Have a taste of Mardi Gras at home with New Orleans micro baker Nancy Pesses’s king cake challah recipe. It’s tradition to make a King Cake your own, so she merged this favorite Mardi Gras treat with our favorite challah for a special twist. Learn more about the history of the King Cake here.
Ingredients
Servings 12
Cinnamon sugar filling
- 5/8 stick unsalted butter substitute ¼ cup +/- 1 tablespoon pecan or walnut oil for parve
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugars
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Dough
- 1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast
- 1 ¼ cup lukewarm water
- 4 ½-5 cups all-purpose flour divided
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
Egg wash
- 1 whole egg
- 1/2 teaspoon water
Decorating
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk or dairy free milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- Green yellow, and purple sprinkles as desired
Nutritional Facts
Nutrition Facts
Challah King Cake
Amount per Serving
Calories
375
% Daily Value*
Fat
11
g
17
%
Saturated Fat
4
g
25
%
Trans Fat
0.2
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
3
g
Monounsaturated Fat
3
g
Cholesterol
54
mg
18
%
Sodium
315
mg
14
%
Potassium
100
mg
3
%
Carbohydrates
63
g
21
%
Fiber
2
g
8
%
Sugar
26
g
29
%
Protein
7
g
14
%
Vitamin A
208
IU
4
%
Vitamin C
0.03
mg
0
%
Calcium
38
mg
4
%
Iron
3
mg
17
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Instructions
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- Melt butter in a heatproof bowl in microwave or pour oil into bowl. Add sugar and cinnamon and mix well.
- You want to achieve an almost paste-like consistency that is still easily spreadable, so add more brown sugar to the mix if too runny, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Dough
- In a medium to large bowl, place the yeast and lukewarm water. Stir gently to mix. Allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it fully dissolves. (may become foamy, which is normal)
- Add 4 cups flour, sugar, salt, oil, eggs and vanilla to the yeast mixture. Stir to combine, and add flour as needed to help pull the dough together. (you can use your hands or a wooden spoon to start, but will want to switch to using your hands eventually)
- Once thoroughly mixed, remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead the remaining ½ cup flour into the dough, continuing to knead for about 10 minutes.
- Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a light kitchen towel. Allow to rise for 2-3 hours.
- Divide dough in two. Working with one half (or one loaf of dough), divide the dough further into three equal pieces. Roll out each piece into an ~18” x 4” rectangle, in preparation for stuffing these strands with the cinnamon sugar filling that is traditional for king cakes.
- Spread 1 ½ - 2 tablespoons filling onto the bottom 2/3 of the rectangle of each strand. Make sure to leave ~1/2 inch border on all sides where there is no filling, so that the edges of the dough will seal nicely.
- From the long edges where the filling is spread, roll up the dough to form strands. Pinch the seams closed to seal the filling inside each strand.
- Braid filled strands into a three-strand challah braid, being conscious to keep the fully braided loaf long in length and shape into a circle or oval.
- Place braided challah on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Cover with light kitchen towel and allow the challah to rise for another 45-60 minutes, or until you can see the size has grown and the challah seems light.
- Preheat oven to 375°F while the dough rises.To make the egg wash, in a small bowl beat one whole egg with 1 teaspoon water. Brush the egg wash liberally over the challah. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
Decorating
- Combine powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and lemon zest. After the challah has cooled for about 20 minutes, generously top with glaze and then colored sprinkles in a decorative way similar to what you see in the image.
Equipment
- 1 medium-large bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Wooden spoon
- 2 Baking sheets
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
- 2 small bowls
- Fork (or small whisk)
- Kitchen scale (optional)
- Dough cutter (optional)
There are no instructions on how to decorate the King Cake Challah with Mardi Gras colors.
Traditionally you would add a powdered sugar glaze (1c powdered sugar, 3T milk, 1/2 t vanilla and maybe a little lemon zest). Glaze the cooled cake and sprinkle sections with purple, then, green then gold decorative sugar in stripes.(see picture)
some people prefer a cream cheese icing which is then decorated with the 3 colors of Mardi Gras in the same way but you will not see the braids if you do the cream cheese.