Gluten-Free King Cake

This carnival cake is full of cinnamony goodness. It’s perfect for your gluten-free friends and family who otherwise can’t celebrate Mardi Gras. The bread like texture and sweet, spicy flavor are a real treat.

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Gluten-Free King Cake

Servings: 6 Servings

Author: Rose Thicket Farms

Equipment

• Stand mixer with a dough hook

Ingredients

Dough

• 3 Tbs whole psyllium husk
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 347 grams (about 2 cups) gluten-free flour I recommend weighing the flour over using a measuring cup to ensure a more consistent result.
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp xanthan gum If your flour blend contains xanthan, reduce to 1 tsp.
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup + 1 1/2 Tbs whole milk
• 1 large egg beaten
• 2 1/2 Tbs butter melted

Filling

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup gluten-free flour
• 1/2 Tbs cinnamon

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 – 2 Tbs water
• Sanding sugars purple, green, and gold

Instructions

• Mix up the filling of brown sugar, gluten-free flour, cinnamon, and sugar and set aside.
• In a bowl measure the psyllium husk and warm water. As you stir it together, a gel will form. Set it aside.
• Measure out the gluten-free flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt into the bowl for the stand mixer. Stir all the ingredients together. Create a well in the center of the mixture.
• In a microwave safe dish, melt the butter and set aside.
• In a microwave safe measuring cup, measure out the milk. Heat in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds. Be sure not to scorch the milk.
• In the well of the flour mixture, add in the psyllium husk, butter, beaten egg, and milk.
• Use the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook to knead the dough together until it is smooth and all ingredients have been thoroughly mixed. Mix on speed of 4 or a medium speed depending on your mixer. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. After everything is mixed, knead the dough for an additional five minutes. The dough will be sticky. Do not add more flour or it will dry out the dough.
• Heat a tea kettle full of water.
• Place a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface. The dough will be rolled out slightly larger than a 11 x 15 inch rectangle. You can use a ruler to make some markings on your parchment paper to use as a guide. Be sure to keep the markings outside of the rectangle for the dough.
• Lightly flour the parchment paper and place the dough onto the surface. Gently push and shape your dough into a rectangle. Sprinkle a little gluten-free flour on top of the dough and begin rolling out the dough into the rectangle. Try to keep the dough an even thickness.
• Once you’ve rolled the dough out, use a paring knife to trim the edges to make rectangle. Remove the excess dough.
• Sprinkle the top of the dough with the cinnamon filling mixture. (There will be some of the filling mixture leftover.)
• Roll the dough, not too tight, into a log shape.
• Bring the ends of dough together. Use the paring knife to score the top of the dough. Making score lines about 1 inch apart. (If you are having difficulty getting the ends to stay together, you can use a wooden skewer to hold it together. Be sure to trim the skewer before placing in the Dutch oven to proof.)
• When the tea kettle is whistling, remove from heat. Pour the water into a 5 1/2 quart Dutch oven and place the lid on for about 3-4 minutes.
• Pour out the water and use a clean towel to dry the inside of the Dutch oven. Place a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom. Put the king cake on the parchment paper in the Dutch oven. Place the lid on and proof for 1 hour.
• When the proofing timer is close to being finished, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Line an insulated baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Put the king cake on the baking sheet.
• Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the cake is golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and use a spatula to move the cake to a wire rack. Gently remove the skewer from the cake.
• Allow to cool completely on the wire rack.
• Once completely cooled, mix up the powdered sugar and water together to make the glaze. Put 1 Tbs of water and mix together with the sugar. Then increase by 1/2 Tbs until the desired consistency has been reached. The glaze should be thick, but able to drizzle from a spoon when lifted from the bowl.
• Spoon the glaze onto the king cake. Use the back of the spoon to help the glaze begin to run down the sides of the cake. Use the glaze to help cover the seam where the king cake was joined together.
• Sprinkle the top with purple, green, and gold sanding sugars.
• Serve.

Notes

Be sure to read the labels for gluten-free. 

I used the America’s Test Kitchen gluten-free flour blend for this recipe. 

Did you make this recipe? 

Tag me on Instagram @rosethicketfarms and use hashtag #rosethicketfarms

Come celebrate Mardi Gras the gluten-free way with this king cake. Please comment and share a picture of your success here with me. Connect with me on social media for more inspiration. If you are looking for a delicious side dish to pair with this meal, check out my Pork & Sausage Jambalaya recipe here.