The festivities of Carnival are not complete without the delicious French king cake recipe.
This cake is special because it is associated with the end of Lent, and we are mixing some Christian traditions in this recipe.
French king cake recipe is a very easy-to-make treat. It is baked in a ring or tube pan and frosted with icing from the batter.
The word “king” comes from the fact that it is baked with a small plastic baby hidden inside.
The person who gets the piece with this baby inside becomes king or queen for the day and is expected to serve everyone else at the party.
French king cake recipe uses many ingredients such as flour, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk, and yeast.
The icing is made out of icing sugar and water, and when the cake has cooled down completely, it gets covered in this delicious creamy frosting.
This recipe will satisfy all your guests and friends on the palate and eyes.
How to Make A French king cake recipe?
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Rest Time: 1 hour
Yield: 10 Servings
parchment paper for the baking sheet
Ingredients for French king cake recipe:
- 400 g puff pastry dough
- 1/2 cup butter, unsalted, soft
- 1 cup icing/confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1/3 cup almond meal
- 3 eggs size large
- 1 tbsp rum
- white flour (all-purpose) to roll out the pastry
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ½ cup sugar 100g
- 1 tablespoon brandy (cognac) or rum
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions for French king cake recipe:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400F/200C.
Step 2: Roll out the puff pastry dough for this recipe with a rolling pin between two sheets of parchment paper.
Step 3: The dough will be shaggy, so it is ok if it cracks a little bit. If it is too thick, you can press down with a fork to make it thinner.
Step 4: Using a cookie cutter, cut out the baby’s shape and pipe some frosting onto the center.
Step 5: Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
Step 6: Remove from the oven, and let it cool down on a wire rack.
Step 7: Once it is cooled down completely, spread brandy (cognac) or rum all over the top of this cake.
Step 8: Mix the icing sugar with the water and a pinch of salt until fully blended.
Step 9: Frost the cake in an even layer.
Step 10: Repeat Steps 6 to 10 twice more, ensuring you scrape all excess frosting from one cake and spread it on another cake to prevent curling.
Step 11: Let this cake rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.
Step 12: You can serve the French king cake recipe in two ways.
Topping Ideas: Pure cream, mascarpone with optional rum, and powdered sugar.
Frosting Ideas: Icing/confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, fresh fruit puree, vanilla extract, or rum.
Nutrition Facts of French king cake recipe
| Nutrition | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 498 |
| Carbohydrates | 69.2g |
| Protein | 7.4g |
| Sugar | 41.7g |
| Total Fat | 22.4g |
| Saturated Fat | 9.7g |
| Trans Fat | 0g |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 8.6g |
| Cholesterol | 74mg |
| Potassium | 271.4mg |
Carbs serve as your energy source for the day, giving you the necessary amount of glucose to power your body through daily activities.
Carbohydrates also act as building blocks of various foods, such as milk, cereals, and bread.
Regarding food sources, fruits and vegetables are some of the richest in carbohydrate content.
A serving provides around 12 grams or 18 percent of your daily carbohydrate intake.
5 Amazing Servings Ideas for A French king cake recipe
1. Make a French king cake recipe as the main dessert at your New Year’s party.
2. Have it after a nice seven-course meal during a celebration or Thanksgiving.
3. Make them with kids in mind to give some fun and interesting treats while they learn to bake at home and enjoy the same process together.
4. This recipe is great for parties and get-togethers.
5. Use them as a gift. You can wrap a French king cake recipe in a nice paper box and give it as a gift to your loved ones for a birthday, anniversary, or other special occasion.
The French king cake recipe belongs to the family of desserts, perfect for baking during the holidays.
During the Christmas season, it is associated with Christmas cheer.
What is a king cake in France?
King cake is a ring-shaped cake. It symbolizes unity and love, as everyone can share it.
It is filled with almond paste or streusel, which may contain pieces of dried fruits or nuts.
It is commonly consumed during the Christian Carnival celebrations before Lent.
Is king cake a French tradition?
King cake, or galette de ROI in French, is a dessert brought to the United States by French immigrants.
Today it is one of the most popular cakes and traditions associated with celebrations such as Christmas and Mardi Gras.
How to make a king cake?
To make this delicious dessert, you must prepare the dough, filling, and topping. The filling should be an almond paste, while the topping consists of icing sugar and water. For decoration purposes, you can add dried fruits or nuts.
How to make the dough for a king cake?
To make this pastry, mix all-purpose flour with butter and water. After that, you need to knead the dough until it is soft and smooth. You can shape it or get a ring-shaped mold to bake in.
How is the king cake in the south of France different?
In the South of France, this cake is made with white flour, whereas in the North part of France, it is traditionally made with rye flour.
Why is king cake so popular?
The dough for this recipe is crispy and soft. It has many layers you can cut using a knife or an apple slicer. You can easily manage to make this king cake ahead of time and wrap it in plastic foil and put it inside your freezer.
Conclusion
The best part of this dessert is that it is a very simple and easy recipe to make, and everybody at the party will enjoy it.
You can also eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and enjoy the same sweet flavor.
It is a great treat during Christmas, but you can also make it ahead of time and serve it during a birthday party or any other special event, such as a wedding or a graduation party. This recipe is refreshing, tasty, and fun to make with kids.
I hope you like my easy French king cake recipe.
I would love to hear about your experience with this recipe below in the comment section.
Happy Baking, Everyone!
Hi, I’m Mary, and I’m a cake maker here at Cakerecipenow.com blog. With a passion for all things sweet and a flair for creativity in the kitchen, I spent 5 years perfecting the art of cake making and decorating. Over the years, I’ve honed my skills through countless baking experiments, and I’m excited to share my knowledge and experience with you.
I love trying new recipes, especially when they’re delicious, I love them so much… hope you like them! Thanks for the time!
