King Cake is a traditional New Orleans dessert. This buttery dough is filled with pecans, butter, and brown sugar sweetener and is so delicious with a cup of coffee.

If you have been following my blog; you will know that I love to bake with sourdough. Fermenting the dough makes it much easier for our bodies to digest. Some people who are sensitive to gluten can eat sourdough bread since it has been fermented which breaks the phytic acids down.

Sourdough bread is made by fermenting the dough naturally using occurring lactobacilli and wild yeast. This was the usual form of leavening bread down into the Middle Ages until it was replaced by other products. French Bakers brought sourdough techniques to California during the Gold Rush where it remains large part of the culture today. To me, there is something special about taking flour and water and turning it into a bubbling starter.

My starter, pictured below, is over 8 years old. From this jar, I have sent our thousands of jars/packs of starter to help others begin their journey into this intriguing world of baking. If you would like to purchase a mature starter to give you a jumpstart into baking you can purchase one on the “Buy it Now” page.

You can make your own starter by following the instructions on this blog post Making a Sourdough Starter or you can purchase a mature starter from my blog store. You can even buy a Sourdough Beginner Kit that will have a mature starter, flours, vital wheat gluten, and an Around the Family Table Cookbook or my brand new book, It’s All About Sourdough (this Kit available 2/22/2023).

This cake pictured below, was baked in an oval ring but you can also put the rolled dough into a bundt pan if you prefer. King Cakes normally have colored sugar sprinkled over the frosting. Since sugar-free sprinkles are hard to find; I colored the frosting into the correct colors for a King Cake.

Sourdough King Cake, THM XO, SF

• Dough:
• 1 1/2 cups sourdough starter
• 1 cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 3 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
• 2 1/2- 2 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• brown rice flour or sprouted flour to dust the cutting board
• Filling:
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar Sweetener Substitute
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• Frosting:
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 5-6 tablespoons half and half or cream
• 1/2 cup Swerve Confectionary Sweetener
• lavender, yellow, and green food coloring
• Dough: In a mixer bowl, combine starter, water, egg, egg white, butter, vanilla, and Greek Yogurt. Mix for 1 minute. Add vital wheat gluten and 2 cups white whole wheat flour. Mix well. Allow dough to rest for 20 minutes. Add salt. Mix well. Add remaining flour in small increments, until dough pulls slightly away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be sticky. Allow dough to ferment for 4 hours at room temperature; doing a set of stretch and folds every hour for 3 sets. Cover dough and place it into the fridge for at least 10 hours. Filling: Combine the filling ingredients together until crumbly. Set aside. Assembling: Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Divide into two equal pieces. If your OCD kicks in, weigh each piece, you will feel better 🙂. Sprinkle brown rice flour or sprouted flour on your cutting board. Take one piece and roll it out into an 18 inch by 6 inch rectangle. Spread 1/2 of the filling over the dough. Roll up like a jelly roll or fold the dough over each other and seal together. Shape into a circle by overlapping the ends. I placed one roll into a greased bundt pan and the other I shaped in the traditional King Cake shape; an oval on parchment paper. Allow the cakes to rise/proof for 1 hour. They should be puffy and almost doubled. Baking: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. When oven is preheated: place the cakes into the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes; until lightly browned or an internal temperature of 200 degrees F. Remove from the oven and cool. Frosting: I use a hand blender and blend the cream cheese, half and half, and sweetener together until smooth. The frosting should be pourable to drizzle over the cake. Divide into 3 dishes. Tint with food colorings. Frost cakes, varying the colors as shown. 2 king cakes, 12 servings each.
• This cake freezes well if it lasts that long.

You can purchase Sourdough Kits, Around the Family Table Cookbook, and It’s all About Sourdough with or without a packet of sourdough starter and packets Sourdough Starter on this page….Buy It Now!

I used active sourdough starter in this recipe which means it was starter that I had fed with in the last 12 hours. A well fed starter is the key to making good sourdough rolls and bread items.

When I measure out the starter, I always measure the water first. Then I measure the starter on top of the water. Your starter won’t leave quite as much of a mess in your measuring cup. My starter is quite sticky and will stick to everything.

This Danish Dough Whisk is an important part of my sourdough baking. It is so easy to combine ingredients with this whisk.

This dough was in the refrigerator overnight or around 12 hours. It has risen to the top of the bowl as you can see.

I divided the dough into half to make two king cakes. I dusted my cutting board with brown rice flour so that the dough will not stick to the board.

The dough was rolled out into an 18 inch by 6 inch rectangle. I spread the filling over the dough as you can see. I then overlapped the dough to form a tube with the filling inside.

I fastened the dough into a circle overlapping the open ends of the tube. Repeat with the remaining dough to make two cakes.

I tried two ways of making the King Cake. I placed one ring of dough into a bundt cake pan.

The one circle of dough I spread into a slight oval and slashed it about every inch around the entire oval.

This is what the cake looked like after baking for 26 minutes. Ovens do vary to it can take anywhere from 25 – 30 minutes.

This cake was baked in a bundt pan which does give a nice presentation, too.

This post has affiliated links, if you purchase items through these links, I receive a small commission but your price doesn’t change. Your purchase help support this blog, keeps new recipes coming, and assist with our move to a mission outreach of our church. Below are a few of my favorites listed under the affiliate store I purchase them. 

Amazon 

If you purchase a sourdough kit from my website store , this is the white whole wheat flour you will receive. I buy this brand in 50 pound bags for my personal use. 

You can purchase the kits through this link….Sourdough Kit.

This Vital Wheat Gluten does a great job with whole grain bread. I will at times purchase this brand if my wholesale supplier is out of vital wheat gluten in larger bags.

This is a very good confectionary sugar substitute to use in frostings.

I have my KitchenAid Mixer for 30 years and it still works great. I had it serviced one time.

The most frequent tool used in my kitchen is my hand blender. I use it every single day.

I am a member of Trim Healthy Mama Affiliate Program . Here is my link if you wish to purchase through it. I receive a few pennies but your price doesn’t change.

You will find many more SOURDOUGH recipes in the spiral bound 600+ page Around the Family Table Cookbook. All recipes are sugar-free and label with the correct fuel.    Buy It Now