I pride myself on being a solid scratch baker: Alton Brown practically raised me, for Pete’s sake, not to mention I audited an online Food Science class from Harvard one semester (hair flip). Harvard, people! So when I was tasked with developing a recipe for gluten-free king cake, I wasn’t intimidated. How hard could it be, I know how to bake!
As it would turn out, I do NOT know how to bake without gluten.
Test after test came out dry, crumbly. Disappointing. Just when I had decided I never wanted to see Bob’s Red Mill 1-To-1 baking flour again, I realized: I was going about it all wrong. I was trying to force my favorite king cake recipes to be gluten-free, rather than find a great gluten-free recipe that I could then make my own. Off to the internet I went.
I quickly became overwhelmed by expensive, unfamiliar ingredients. Whey protein isolate? Tapioca starch? Potato flour? If I were looking to get into the gluten-free baking market professionally, investing in these might have made sense. But all I really wanted was to occasionally be able to make a good king cake for my friends.
After some thought, it finally dawned on me: what was simple, comparably inexpensive, and easily accessible? Bread mix! After all, what is king cake, after you strip it of all the flavors, fillings, and toppings? Just mildly sweet, soft, bread.
I used Hodgson Mill gluten-free white bread mix because it was convenient to pick up at my local supermarket, but this recipe is straight-forward enough to work with whatever your favorite may be. For best results, it should be the kind that stays loose, like the consistency of a thick cake batter. I hope you enjoy creating your own homemade gluten-free king cake and would love to hear about the results!
Gluten-Free King Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3 ½ cups Gluten Free Bread Mix of your choice
- ½ cup butter, divided (one stick)
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- ¾ cup white sugar, divided
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons fast rise yeast (included in most mixes, check yours to confirm)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
Glaze:
- 1 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon almond flavoring (optional)
Sugar Topping:
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- Purple, Green, and Yellow food coloring
- 3 sandwich size plastic storage bags
Directions:
Cake:
1. Prepare a standard size bundt pan by spraying with thoroughly cooking spray and lightly coating with either cornmeal or GF baking flour. Tap out excess.
2. Melt ¼ cup butter (half stick) in a medium sized bowl; add ½ cup white sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, and ½ teaspoon vanilla. Stir to combine, set aside.
3. Warm milk in a small bowl to approximately 100*-110*. It will be warm to the touch but not scalding.
4. Add 1 teaspoon of the remaining sugar and all of the yeast to the milk. Stir, set a timer for 5 minutes and set aside.
5. Pour the bread mix into a mixing bowl of a stand mixer* equipped with the paddle attachment. Add remaining sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt and mix on low briefly, just to combine.
6. Melt the remaining ¼ cup butter.
7. When your 5-minute timer goes off, add milk and yeast mixture to bread mix along with melted butter, room temperature eggs, cider vinegar, and orange and lemon zests.
8. Mix on low until mostly combined, stop the mixer and scrape the bowl well with a spatula. Mix again for on medium-high for 3 minutes. The dough will be similar to a very thick cake batter.
9. Spoon approximately 1/3 of the dough into prepared bundt pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Top with another 1/3 of the dough, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Finish with the last 1/3 of dough, smoothing the top with a wet spatula. Spray lightly with cooking spray, cover loosely in cling wrap. Allow to rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
10. Preheat oven to 375* near the end of rising time.
11. Bake at 375* for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when tested.
12. Turn out onto a cooling rack after 5 minutes, allow to cool completely.
Sugar Topping:
While cake is cooling, divide sugar into 3 sandwich bags. Add the purple, green, and yellow food coloring to the bags, then seal and shake. Add more food coloring, a few drops at a time, until desired color intensity is reached.
Glaze:
Combine powdered sugar, milk, corn syrup, and almond flavoring (if desired). Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cooled king cake then top with colored sugars immediately.
*A hand-held mixer can work also, but add 2 minutes to mix time. Mixing by hand is possible but tough on the arms! Stir for 8 full minutes if by hand.
The Little Things Cakes is a home-based bakery owned and operated by Christy Broady. It was founded in 2016 when increasing demand for her baked goods inspired Christy to go into business on her own. In the three years since starting, Christy has grown from making a few dozen cupcakes here and there to several elaborate cakes a month. With her sophisticated flavors and impeccable attention to detail, Christy can’t wait to show you why it’s the little things that will truly make your next event special.
Be sure to check out our full 2022 King Cake Guide here!
Check out our full Mardi Gras Guide for more Mardi Gras Family Fun, King Cake Guides, and more!
Dr. Sinella Aghasi is an arts administrator, educator, and violinist. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Louisiana State University, Master of Music from San Francisco State University, and Bachelor of music education and violin performance from California State University Stanislaus.
Brian Schneider is a lighting designer and licensed electrician based in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Gregory G. Williams Jr. is a native of Baton Rouge and the Founding Artistic Director for New Venture Theatre. He is a graduate of Northwestern State University with a BA in Theatre and New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) with an MBA in Marketing. His professional theatre background includes working with Don Holder (Tony Award Winning Lighting Designer for Disney’s The Lion King,) The Negro Ensemble Theatre Company (NYC), The Little Black Box Theatre Company (New Jersey), and American Family Theatre (Philadelphia.) He is also a playwright and has written over ten plays including, Colored, Step Off!, Sweet Georgia Brown, and is currently working on his next piece – Talbert Beacon Presents His Latest’s Greatest Gospel Stage Play.
Wendy Waszut-Barrett, PhD, is an author, artist, scene designer and historian, specializing in painted settings for opera houses, vaudeville theaters, social halls, cinemas, and other entertainment venues. In addition to evaluating, restoring, and replicating historic backdrops, Waszut-Barrett also writes about forgotten scenic art techniques and theatre manufacturers. Her most recent publication is The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018). Although her primary focus remains on the past, she continues to work as a contemporary scene designer for theatre and opera. Dr. Waszut-Barrett’s set designs are artful,
Keturah Heard is a recent graduate of Louisiana State University with a Master of Music in vocal performance. Last season she performed the role of stepsister Clorinda in Opera Louisiane’s production of Rossini’s Cinderella and was also seen performing the role of Mariola in LSU’s collegiate premiere of Jake Heggie’s Two Remain. Recently, Keturah sang in Opera Louisiane’s Shifting Gears concert, safely bringing music to the public during the current pandemic. Along with performing, Keturah has enjoyed over ten years of teaching music to students of all ages and is thrilled to be a teaching artist with Opéra Louisiane this spring.
Originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Jennifer White received her classical ballet training from Sarah Quinn Jones at Dance Theatre Southwest. While in high school, Mrs. White attended North Carolina School of the Arts and graduated from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts with a concentration in Dance and was awarded the Presidential Scholar and Regent Scholar Awards. She also trained and performed with Delta Festival Ballet in New Orleans. Her repertoire includes Petrushka, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Taunhauser, Evangeline, Paquita, La Bayadere, La Corsaire, Swan Lake, Hansel and Gretel, The Magic Flute, The Barber of Seville, Bastien and Bastienne, and Amahl. In
Nae Rim Moon earned a Masters of Music in Choral Conducting at Northern Arizona University in 2018 where she assisted Women’s Chorale and Shrine of the Ages. Before moving to the United States, she is a graduate of Myongji University in Korea, where she studied Vocal Performance major, and she was a member of a professional choir which is JW Chorale as an alto. She is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin in River Falls, where she studied Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting for her 2nd bachelor’s degree. She is a second-year DMA student in Choral Conducting at Louisiana State University and assisted A Cappella Choir and Chorale. Also, she is studying the Louisiana K-12 Music Certification program at LSU.
Danielle Laird is a Baton Rouge native, and graduated with a BME in Music Education from Florida State University. She taught high school choir for six years at 5A high schools in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Houston, TX. Danielle has sung professionally as part of Houston Chamber Choir, Cantare Houston, and as a cantor. She has taught in a variety of music education environments including high school choir, middle school choir, children’s choir, elementary general music, and private voice instruction. Danielle is currently pursuing her Masters degree at LSU in Music Education with a secondary concentration in Choral Conducting.
Khary Wilson, tenor, is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Carolina and his Master of Music from Louisiana State University. Mr. Wilson has performed opera, oratorio, and recital with regional companies across the US, Australia, and Europe. Recent performances include Tenor Soloist in Carmina Burana with the Maroondah Symphony in Melbourne, Australia; ‘Tybalt’ in Romeo and Juliet and ‘Action’ in West Side Story with GLOW Lyric Theater; ‘DonRamiro’ in La Cenerentola with The Atlanta Opera Studio, ‘Rinuccio’ in Gianni Schicchi with The Berlin Opera Academy; and Tenor Soloist in Carmina Burana with The Long Bay
Dr. Leanne Clement is a graduate of The School of Music at Louisiana State University, where she received her Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in vocal performance. While at LSU she was awarded the School of Music Foundation Scholarship, the Mrs. Dorothy Halphen Kolb Scholarship from the Baton Rouge Opera Guild, and was a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the music honor society. She also was co- founder of the LOOP or LSU Opera Outreach Program that provided performances to local elementary schools. Prior to moving to Louisiana, Leanne received her Bachelor of Arts in English from the College of William and Mary in Virginia.
