Celebrate Mardi Gras with homemade King Cake Donuts coated in icing and colorful sprinkles!
I've always wanted to visit New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras. It looks like so much fun, and I think the history of it is so cool! King Cake is a traditional treat for the celebration, and I'm sharing an easy recipe of it in donut form here today! These King Cake Donuts are made packed with the iconic cinnamon roll-like flavors in both the donut itself AND the icing. They are such a fun and festive treat to enjoy to celebrate Mardi Gras, and will definitely be a hit at parties!
These King Cake Donuts are the perfect Mardi Gras treat! Here's what you'll need to make this simple recipe:
- Cinnamon: cinnamon is a must-have in King Cakes! It also gives the donuts a bit of spice that pairs with the sweetness.
- Sanding Sugar - These give the donuts their iconic King Cake color! Make sure you get these sprinkles in green, purple, and yellow/gold.
- Egg: egg helps the donuts to have a moist, soft crumb.
- Sugar: White granulated sugar allows these donuts to be as sweet as they can be! Add more sugar if you want them sweeter, but I personally think they taste amazing with the amount of sugar the recipe calls for!
- Flour: All-purpose flour allows the donuts to have a cake-like consistency.
- Baking Powder: The baking powder allows the donuts to rise while baking. Definitely do not skip this ingredient!
- Salt: this balances everything out for a not-too-sweet donut.
- Milk: Any kind of dairy milk or even heavy cream for the icing will work to make it creamy and smooth.
- Powdered Sugar: unlike granulated sugar, this is the right consistency to blend with the cream and, of course, sweetens the icing.
- Vanilla Extract: this gives the icing a hint of vanilla flavor that balances well with the sweetness.
(Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are found below)
You will also need a hand/stand mixer, mixing bowls, whisk, donut pans, and nonstick spray.
What is a Mardi Gras King Cake?
For many people, it's just not Mardi Gras without enjoying a King Cake. This iconic treat is traditionally a sweet, ring-shaped pastry that is similar to a cinnamon roll, sometimes filled with cream cheese and/or fruit. Then it's topped with icing and colorful sugar to show the traditional Mardi Gras colors: purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power.
The King Cake is a Catholic-based tradition, usually served starting on Epiphany, or Three King's Day, which falls on January 6th and lasts until midnight on Fat Tuesday. The colorful dessert gets its name from the story of the three kings who gave gifts to Jesus. There is also a custom of hiding a small, plastic baby in the cake, which symbolizes the baby Jesus. Finding the baby in your slice of King Cake symbolizes luck and prosperity.
These King Cake donuts are a fun twist on the traditional King Cake, but on a smaller scale. The donuts are light, fluffy, and packed with the same King Cake flavors and topped with colorful sprinkles to celebrate Mardi Gras at home! If you'd like to add a plastic baby to the donuts, I would recommend adding one on top to prevent any choking hazards.
Combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer to make the donut batter. Pour the batter into a piping bag (or zipped storage bag with the corner clipped off) and fill two greased donut pans a little more than ¼ full.
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle the mixture evenly over each of the donuts. This will give the donuts a cinnamon roll-like filling, which is one of the great features of a King Cake!
While the donuts are cooling, mix up the icing. Once the donuts are completely cooled, dip the top half of each donut into the icing, and then flip it over onto a baking sheet or wire rack.
Immediately top the donuts with even sections of purple, green, and yellow sanding sugar. Allow the icing to set, and then serve.
Aren't these donuts so fun and festive? I love the bright Mardi Gras colors from the sprinkles! Not only are these donuts cute, but they really are incredibly delicious! The cinnamon sugar inside the donut really makes these donuts stand out from the rest. These have been a hit with the whole family, and are fun for a Mardi Gras breakfast or after-dinner treat.
King Cake Donuts
Servings: 12
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 15 minutes
Donut Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Icing Ingredients:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 Tablespoons milk
- Sprinkles - green, purple, gold/yellow (for topping)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Grease 2 donut pans with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients, then add eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
- In a small bowl, stir brown sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.
- Pour the batter to a piping bag and fill the donut pans a little less than ½ full.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture over the top of the batter, then pipe the remaining batter on top until the donut cavities are full.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the donuts are golden brown at the edges and bounce back when pressed lightly with your finger.
- Allow the donuts to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk together until smooth.
- Dip the top of each donut in the icing, then immediately top with purple, green, and gold sprinkles.
- Allow the glaze to harden before serving.
Tips:
- Store donuts in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Allow icing to fully set before stacking them in the container so they don’t stick together.
These King Cake Donuts are the perfect Mardi Gras treat, and will be great to share at your celebrations or as a festive breakfast. They are delicious, and very simple to make. If you decide to give this recipe a try, I'd love to hear all about it! Please share your creations on Instagram, Facebook, or leave a comment/photo on the project pin on Pinterest!
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