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My gluten free king cake gives you ALL of the authentic Mardi Gras dessert flavors and textures you crave, y'all! A homemade sweet dough, made in a stand mixer then transferred to a warm oven to rise to the assignment. Then, decked out with a cream cheese/blueberry preserves filling. Finally, topped with a confectioner's sugar glaze and colored sugars, this melt-in-your-mouth masterpiece is the only recipe you will ever need. Yep and yay...
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It's a Carnival Confection Love Affair of the Heart, Y'all...
I was born and raised in south Louisiana, y'all. And, I still live here and love every minute of it. I am extremely fortunate that God blessed me with a Cajun mom.
So, I was raised deep, deep within the Cajun culture all of my life. My mom cooked Cajun food at least five times a week, with south Louisiana gumbos, beans, and stews a part of my everyday life.
And, every year like clockwork a king cake or two would without a doubt show up on my Mom's dinner table. And I ate them everywhere else, too. At friend's and family member's houses, and at church, too.
Then, when I grew up, I got my own king cakes each year. That is until I found out that I was gluten intolerant in 2010. Then, it took me years and years to perfect my very own home-baked gluten free king cake. And, it's this very recipe that I'm sharing with y'all now.
So, this is not just a blog post for me, y'all. It's a years and years-long labor of love that I FINALLY perfected in early 2018. So, this post is an update of my original post sharing my method for making the very best homemade gluten free king cake that you can have - and eat it too. Indeed.
Ingredient Essentials
- I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to1 Baking Flour. It's the closest flour to traditional wheat flour, in my humble opinion. And it does not disappoint in this recipe, y'all. Because of this special flour, no one will ever know that this king cake is gluten free unless you tell them. So, order some from Amazon if you can't find it at your local grocery store.
- However, go ahead and give this recipe a try if you have another type of gluten-free all-purpose or baking flour on hand. Just make sure that you measure the flour correctly to set yourself up for the best results.
- The evaporated milk, sour cream, and softened butter add different levels of moisture to the baked gluten free king cake. And since I've made this recipe at least seven times, I can tell you that this trio is a winning combination. That said, you can sub heavy cream, half and half, or milk with no problem. You can also use vegan milk, butter, and sour cream, too. However, I haven't tested it this way. So, expect to have some texture variations that you might have to experiment with a few times to get right.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg help to give this gluten free king cake its authentic flavor profile. I recommend using them exactly as indicated in the recipe. It calls for the perfect amount of both of them and they play off of one another beautifully.
- The yeast helps the cake rise while baking. And, the lemon juice and white vinegar balance the sweetness in the finished cake perfectly. So, use all three to ensure optimal gluten free king cake baking success.
- I used just cream cheese, sugar, and blueberry preserves for the filling. The glaze on top and finishing sugars complement this simple filling. So, don't add anything to it or it might be flavor and texture overload.
Top Tips for Gluten Free King Cake Making
The first tip is to gather all of the ingredients for the recipe together. Then, group the ingredients into cake, filling, glaze, and sugar. This method ensures that you don't forget any ingredient that would ruin the recipe.
You can also order Mardi Gras-themed decorating kits that include colored sugar and a plastic baby. If you want to use these, give yourself plenty of time for them to arrive before you commit to baking the cake.
Lastly, the first time that you make this cake will take the longest amount of time. So, block out at least two hours to get it all together. You'll probably have leftover time in the schedule. But, you'll be super prepared and ready to knock out each step in your relaxed state of mind.
How to Make Gluten Free King Cake
To begin, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. When the oven comes up to temperature, set a timer for 10 minutes. Then, turn the oven off but keep the door closed.
Now, pour the instant yeast into the warm water. Set aside.
Next, heat the milk on the stove. Then, pour the vinegar into the milk.
Pour the lemon juice into the milk, as well.
Now, pour both the yeast and the milk mixtures into the bottom of your Kitchenaid stand mixer bowl.
Pour the remaining gluten free king cake dough ingredients into the bowl. Then, top with the sifted flour.
Outfit the mixer with the beater attachment, and process until combined.
Replace the beater attachment with the dough hook. Knead the dough over low speed for several minutes. Then, remove the stand mixer bowl. Cover it loosely with plastic wrap, and place it in the warm oven. Let rest for 90 minutes.
The gluten free king cake dough should look a lot like the picture below after the resting period.
Beat the cream cheese along with the sugar. Then, get the blueberry preserves ready to use, as well.
Now, decide if you will braid the gluten free king cake dough, or if you will use a Bundt pan. If using the pan, grease and gluten free flour the pan very, very liberally. You want the baked and cooled king cake to fall right out. So, do a complete greasing and flouring job for optimal gluten free king cake Bundt cake success.
On the other hand, if you want to make a traditional-looking gluten free king cake, then get the dough ready for braiding. First, roll out the dough into an approximate ¼-inch-high rectangle. Then, cut it in half lengthwise.
Now, spread the cream cheese and sugar mixture along both sides, then top with the blueberry preserves. Roll each piece over the filling, tucking the filling into each roll as best that you can. Then, braid the two pieces together very carefully, forming an oval shape reminiscent of a classic king cake. Rest the cake again for 1 more hour on the countertop, covering it lightly with plastic wrap.
Alternately, pour half of the dough into the bottom of the greased Bundt pan. Then, arrange the cream cheese and sugar mixture over the top of the dough.
Finally, top with blueberry preserves, then the remaining dough. Slide into the preheated oven, and bake until done.
When the cake is done, let it cool for at least 90 minutes.
While it's cooling, make the homemade sugars if you don't have a Mardi Gras king cake decorating kit on hand.
Lastly, make the confectioner's sugar glaze to drizzle over the gluten free king cake right before sugaring.
And that's it, y'all!!
I am well aware that this gluten free king cake recipe can be quite intimidating at first. But, it's super approachable if you break it down step by step.
And the payoff!! This is REAL DEAL king cake from me, a native of this culture that AIN'T HAVING no fake king cake, y'all. Nope!!
I honestly made this recipe six times before I posted it on this blog in January of 2018. So, this recipe is the best of the best, a labor of pure, sheer love that I created with the 8-minute stand mixer kneading process that pulls it all authentically together. For sure!
Share this gluten free king cake with those who reciprocate all you do for them in uniquely unexpected, but incredibly awesome ways. Much food love, and see y'all on the yum side...
Other Gluten Free South Louisiana-Style Desserts
Here are some other scrumptious south Louisiana dessert recipes you're sure to love, as well.
What to Serve Before Gluten Free King Cake
These classic dishes pair perfectly with the famous Mardi Gras dessert.
NOTE: This post was originally published on January 29, 2018, and updated and republished on February 3, 2024.
Gluten Free King Cake
Ingredients
For the King Cake
- 1 ¼ ounce package Fleischmann's RapidRise instant yeast
- ½ cup warm water
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons butter room temperature
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill 1-to1 Baking Flour, sifted
For the Blueberry Cream Cheese Filling
- 1 8-ounce block cream cheese room temperature
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups blueberry preserves
For the Glaze
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water
For the Colored Sugar Sprinkles
- 1 ½ cups sugar divided
- blue, red, green, and yellow food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. When the oven reaches the temperature, set a timer for 10 minutes.
- When the 10-minute timer goes off, turn off the oven, and leave the door closed.
- Next, pour the quick rise instant dry yeast into a bowl with the warm water. Stir to incorporate, and set aside.
- Heat the milk in a small pot or microwave until just heated through.
- Remove from heat, and add the vinegar and lemon juice to the milk.
- Pour into the milk/vinegar/lemon juice mixture, and the yeast/water bowl into the bowl of Kitchenaid stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment. Add the eggs, sour cream, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract and sugar to the bowl.
- Then, add the sifted gluten free flour blend to the bowl, and slide the spatter guard over the bowl of the mixer.
- Process over medium speed for 1 minute, then on high speed for one minute.
- Remove the beater attachment from the bowl, and replace it with the dough hook.
- Knead the dough on Kitchenaid speed setting 2 for 8 minutes. (This is the most important step of the process. You are kneading the dough for texture, so it will taste just like a traditional king cake. But, you have to knead it exactly at setting 2, or the texture will be off.)
- After kneading, remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Place plastic wrap loosely over the bowl.
- Make sure that the heating element in your oven is not red anymore. The oven should still be warm but not hot.
- Place the covered stand mixer bowl in the oven.
- Let rest for 1 ½ hours.
- Remove the bowl from the oven. Take off the plastic wrap, and stir the dough lightly with a wooden spoon.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Use a hand mixer to combine the softened cream cheese and ⅓ cup of sugar.
- Then, get the blueberry preserves ready to be used. Set the cream cheese mixture and blueberry preserves aside.
- Grease a Bundt pan very liberally with oil. Then, use gluten free flour to saturate as much of the pan as you can. (You are doing this so that the cooled baked gluten free king cake will just fall out of the pan. So, use as much grease and GF flour as you can to achieve this, see the picture in the blog post for reference.)
- If you want to make a more traditional oval king cake, roll out the dough into an approximate ¼-inch-high rectangle. Then, cut it in half lengthwise.Now, spread the cream cheese and sugar mixture along both sides, then top with the blueberry preserves. Roll each piece over the filling, tucking the filling into each roll as best that you can. Then, braid the two pieces together very carefully, forming an oval shape reminiscent of a classic king cake. Rest the cake again for 1 more hour on the countertop, covering it lightly with plastic wrap.
- Pour half of the dough into the bottom of the Bundt pan.
- Then, use a large spoon to place the cream cheese mixture on top of the batter.
- Next, pour the blueberry preserves on top of the cream cheese mixture. Keep the filling as close to the middle of the cake as possible throughout the process.
- Pour the rest of the batter on top of the filling, making sure that the dough completely covers the filling.
- Bake the gluten free king cake for 30 minutes, or until cooked through. You can use a knife or cake tester to make sure that the very edge of the cake, or the very inside of the cake around the bundt cake hole, is cooked all the way through.
- Cool the cake in the Bundt pan until completely cooled, for about 60 to 90 minutes. Once cooled, place a large cooling rack over the exposed cake. Very, very carefully flip the cake over so that it falls completely out of the Bundt pan.
- Make the glaze by whisking all the confectioner's sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk together in a bowl. Add the hot water in small batches to help get the lumps out of the glaze. If you're unhappy with the texture, add more sugar and milk to the mixture until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Use a spoon to apply the glaze in circles around the top of the cake. Shake the plate slightly to encourage the icing to fall down both sides of the cake in a simple decorative pattern.
- Finish the cake by applying the with the purple, green, and gold colored sugar sprinkles. To make the sprinkles yourself, add about 3 drops of yellow food coloring to ½ cup sugar, then stir to combine. Do the same with the green food coloring for the green sprinkles. Make the purple sprinkles by combining 2 to 3 drops red food coloring with 1 to 2 drops blue food coloring. Stir well, then use a spoon to incorporate into the sugar.
- Serve the cake immediately.
- Store the leftovers tightly covered in the fridge for up to three days.
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by a third-party, online computer-generated nutrition calculator, not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods and individual portion sizes, along with other factors.
See our full nutrition disclaimer here.
