My friend who hails from New Orleans asked me if I could come up with a gluten-free rendition of the traditional "King Cake" served for Mardi Gras. This delicious cake is made with a bread-dough like consistency, filled with swirls of cinnamon and sugar and topped with a creamy, scrumptious glaze. Colored sparkling sugar decorations in the traditional colors of purple, green and gold make for a fun, festive and delicious cake! The best part is, while it looks fancy, it's easier to whip together than cinnamon rolls. Enjoy!
Makes one large King Cake
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a mixer, combine the dry ingredients:
2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup cornstarch or arrowroot starch
1/4 cup potato starch
1/2 sugar
4 tsp rapid-rise yeast
3 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp salt
Add in the following, mix slowly and then increase to medium/medium-high speed for 4 minutes:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk, warmed
1/2 cup water, warmed (plus additional 2-3 Tbsp, if needed)
3 eggs
While beating, the dough will change consistency, but if it's too thick, you can add an additional 2 Tbsp of water.
Roll out the dough between pieces of plastic wrap. I lay out two large pieces, slightly overlapped. Scoop the dough onto the plastic wrap. Then, using another two large pieces, slightly overlapped, roll the dough out into a large rectangle. You want to aim for something approximately 20" x 36".
Spread on the dough:
1/4 cup butter, melted
Sprinkle over melted butter the following, mixed together:
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
Using the plastic wrap to help, roll up the dough. If the dough is a little sticky, you can always use a little bit of water on your hands.
Use very wet hands to move and reshape the dough into the desired shape. I keep dipping my hands in water to adjust the dough on the parchment paper and smooth the tops and edges.
1. Let it rise uncovered. This will have a tighter edge to the outside of the dough, but will give a sleeker look.
2. Cover the cookie sheet with another cookie sheet that's flipped upside down. This will give a puffier, more moist cake. It tends to help it rise faster, and usually ends up with more cracks throughout the top, but the taste is basically the same.
In three small bowls combine:
decorating sparkling sugar sprinkles
with liquid food coloring as follows:
2 red drops for every 1 blue drop for purple
green drops for green
yellow drops for gold
Set aside, mixing occasionally to help the coloring dry on the sugar crystals.
Once your cake is mostly cooled, you can glaze it with the following glaze, then immediately sprinkle with colored sugar sprinkles.
Creamy Glaze:
Whisk together:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2-4 Tbsp milk, to a thick glaze consistency
Spread the glaze overtop of the cake, spreading with the back of a spoon to spread evenly and get the dripping effect. Sprinkle immediately with colored sprinkles. It will set fairly quickly, and you can slice and serve! Enjoy!
Gluten-free King Cake! Fun, Festive and Delicious!
A slice of King Cake - I found everyone had a preferred color or color combination.
King CakeMakes one large King Cake
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a mixer, combine the dry ingredients:
2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup cornstarch or arrowroot starch
1/4 cup potato starch
1/2 sugar
4 tsp rapid-rise yeast
3 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp salt
Add in the following, mix slowly and then increase to medium/medium-high speed for 4 minutes:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk, warmed
1/2 cup water, warmed (plus additional 2-3 Tbsp, if needed)
3 eggs
While beating, the dough will change consistency, but if it's too thick, you can add an additional 2 Tbsp of water.
Roll out the dough between pieces of plastic wrap. I lay out two large pieces, slightly overlapped. Scoop the dough onto the plastic wrap. Then, using another two large pieces, slightly overlapped, roll the dough out into a large rectangle. You want to aim for something approximately 20" x 36".
Spread on the dough:
1/4 cup butter, melted
Sprinkle over melted butter the following, mixed together:
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
Using the plastic wrap to help, roll up the dough. If the dough is a little sticky, you can always use a little bit of water on your hands.
The rolled up dough, ready to carefully transfer to the parchment paper-lined pan
Getting the roll of dough into a ring on the parchment paper-lined pan is the trickiest part. To do this, roll the dough toward the edge of the plastic wrap. Carefully pick up the roll (using plastic wrap) and place as best you can into a circle/oval shape on your pan. Don't worry if it's not perfect!Use very wet hands to move and reshape the dough into the desired shape. I keep dipping my hands in water to adjust the dough on the parchment paper and smooth the tops and edges.
King Cake dough, having been shaped into a neat, smooth ring. You can make it into a larger oval, too! Both work perfectly.
Let dough rise ~40-60 minutes in a warm location, until puffed up (it won't be quite doubled in size, but should look nicely risen. You have two options for rising:1. Let it rise uncovered. This will have a tighter edge to the outside of the dough, but will give a sleeker look.
2. Cover the cookie sheet with another cookie sheet that's flipped upside down. This will give a puffier, more moist cake. It tends to help it rise faster, and usually ends up with more cracks throughout the top, but the taste is basically the same.
King Cake dough after rising, ready for baking!
Bake your cake at 350 F for ~40 minutes, until nicely browned. Let rest on cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes before sliding off and letting cool directly on the cooling rack. 
Freshly baked, and finishing cooling on the cooling rack. Colored sparkling sugar sprinkles can be seen next to the King Cake.
While the cake is cooling, prepare the colored sugars:In three small bowls combine:
decorating sparkling sugar sprinkles
with liquid food coloring as follows:
2 red drops for every 1 blue drop for purple
green drops for green
yellow drops for gold
Set aside, mixing occasionally to help the coloring dry on the sugar crystals.
Once your cake is mostly cooled, you can glaze it with the following glaze, then immediately sprinkle with colored sugar sprinkles.
Creamy Glaze:
Whisk together:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2-4 Tbsp milk, to a thick glaze consistency
Spread the glaze overtop of the cake, spreading with the back of a spoon to spread evenly and get the dripping effect. Sprinkle immediately with colored sprinkles. It will set fairly quickly, and you can slice and serve! Enjoy!
Immediately after spreading around the glaze. You want to put on the sprinkles immediately, while the glaze is still wet.
A finished cake! The glaze ends up looking polished once it cools/hardens slightly.
Such a fun and festive cake! There were many happy little taste-testers around here!
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