New Orleans Gluten-Free King Cake (Vegan, Allergy-Free) (2024)

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Celebrate Mardi Gras with this authentic Gluten-Free King Cake! A New Orleans tradition baked during Carnival Season, now with a delicious vegan & allergy-free recipe! Classic rich brioche-style cake ring, filled with a sweet, buttery filling, decorated with simple low-sugar icing and boldly-colored gold, green, and purple sprinkles! A Fat Tuesday dessert everyone will love!

Mardi Gras always sneaks up on us every year and there's never enough to seek out a gluten-free king cake in time for the celebration. Until you try out this homemade recipe! This tested and perfected gluten-free version of the traditional New Orleans cake will have everyone thinking they're eating the real thing! King cake is full of rich culture and contrary to what you may think, it's not an exclusive treat just to New Orleans. Many cultures use a version of the cake to celebrate the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of pre-Lenten festivities. However, if you're from the United States, that iconic purple, green, and gold sparkle automatically brings to mind Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras!

What Is The Story Behind King Cake?

A king cake is not exclusive to New Orleans and Mardi Gras celebrations. It's associated with a number of countries' celebrations of the Epiphany, marking the end of the Christmas season. Other countries, like the United States, bake this type of cake to mark the pre-Lenten season (Carnival season) that runs between January 6th (King's Day) and ends on Fat Tuesday (which falls on the first Tuesday in March). Generally, celebrations of Mardi Gras begin on February 28th in New Orleans, Louisiana. The king cake is made as a confection to celebrate this season, bringing families and communities together to celebrate the Christian faith.

What Religion Is The King Cake?

King Cake is a sweet pastry cake or bread that is used in the Catholic religion to honor the Epiphany on January 6th. Also known as the Twelfth Night, this day historically marks the arrival of the three wise men/kings in Bethlehem who delivered gifts to baby Jesus.

What Does The Baby Symbolize?

The baby in the cake symbolizes baby Jesus and is a nod to the story of the Epiphany and three wise men. Anyone who gets the baby in their slice of cake is declared "king" for the day and is supposedly granted luck and prosperity in the new year. (They're also responsible for buying or making the king cake for next year's celebration!) Other countries outside of the United States use other figurines in their king cakes. Fava beans, small charms, or written fortunes can be used.

What Is King Cake?

King cake is essentially a sweet, rich, buttery, brioche-style cake. The dough can be shaped in various ways including twisted in a braided loaf form, shaped as a ring, or baked in a bundt pan. The cake has a filling that varies by region or country but typically starts with butter or cream cheese, brown sugar, spices like cinnamon or nutmeg, as well as dried fruits like raisins or cherries, and nuts like pecans or almonds. Sometimes you'll even find chocolate! The cake is meant to be decorated boldly with a simple icing glaze covered with purple, green, and gold/yellow sugar crystals.

What Does King Cake Taste Like?

The dough is similar to a rich, dense, yeasty brioche bread that's sweet and buttery. The filling is reminiscent of a cinnamon roll. Made with buttery brown sugar and cinnamon, oozing throughout the layers of the cake. King cake tastes like one massive cinnamon roll...decorated with colorful sugar crystals!

Why You'll Love This Gluten-Free Recipe

This homemade king cake is as authentic as you can get while cutting out the gluten, dairy, and eggs! This recipe is:

Gluten-Free
Vegan
Allergy-free (Dairy-Free,Soy-Free,Egg-Free,Nut-Free,Peanut-Free,Wheat-Free,Sesame-Free,Corn-Free, Coconut-Free)
Sugar-Free or Low-Sugar
Kid-Friendly
Freezer-Friendly
Perfect Dessert To Celebrate Mardi Gras

Ingredients For Gluten-Free King Cake

For The Cake Dough:

Gluten-Free Flour: You can use your favorite gluten-free all-purpose or baking flour for this cake recipe.
Dry Active Yeast: King cake is a yeasted bread, so you will need to dry active yeast for this recipe. Make sure the yeast you buy is gluten-free. I also don't recommend using instant yeast for this recipe.
Sweetener: The sweet dough contains granulated sweetener and you can use sugar-free sweetener to cut down on sugar or your choice of granulated sugar.
Egg Replacements: Powdered egg replacements like Bob's Red Mill brand or prepared flax eggs work in this recipe. Do not use fruit or veggie puree in this recipe since the dough needs to be very sturdy.
Vegan Butter: A buttery brioche calls for butter! You'll need half a stick of your favorite dairy-free butter.

For The Cake Filling:

Brown Sugar: The filling is primarily brown sugar so you can use sugar-free brown sugar sweetener or your go-to dark or light brown sugar.
Vegan Butter or Vegan Cream Cheese: More vegan butter or plain vegan cream cheese is used to make the filling thick and ooey gooey like a cinnamon roll. (I prefer butter in this recipe).
Spices: Start with standard cinnamon, but you can also add a pinch of warming ground nutmeg for that authentic bakery taste.
Vanilla: Vanilla extract adds a hint of depth to the cinnamon sugar filling.
Optional Add-Ins: Including raisins, currents, or dried cherries is delicious if you want an extra pop of chewy sweetness. You can also add chopped pecans or almonds if you don't need to worry about nut allergies. You may also include fresh chopped apples, fruit jams, chopped chocolate chunks, or cocoa powder!

Decorations:

Powdered Sweetener + Water: Your choice of sugar-free powdered sweetener or powdered sugar mixed with water will be the base of your icing for the cake.
Colored Sprinkles: You can buy colored purple, green, and gold, sugar crystals or you can make your own with granulated sugar and natural food dye if desired.
Plastic Baby: You can find a plastic baby trinket online if you want the real king cake experience, otherwise you can substitute it with a large dry bean.

How To Make King Cake For Mardi Gras

First, proof the yeast by mixing it together in a small bowl with warm water, sugar, and salt for about 5-10 minutes until it's foamy and activated.
In a large mixing bowl combine the gluten-free flour, yeast mixture, prepared egg replacements, and softened vegan butter. Mix well everything together and knead the dough with your hands to work in the yeast. Set the bowl of dough aside in a warm location, covered with a towel, and let it rise for about 45-60 minutes.
Preheat your oven while you make the filling for the cake by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl and allowing it to chill in the fridge until ready to use.

How To Shape The Cake Ring:

Once the dough has risen, roll it out on a flat and floured surface to about ¼-inch thickness.
Spread the brown sugar filling evenly on the rolled-out dough, careful to leave at least an inch of free space from the edges of the dough.
Carefully take one edge of the dough and begin to roll it up into a tight log, like a cinnamon roll. Use a Silpat or plastic wrap to help you roll the dough tight (similar to sushi).
Roll the dough into a long log before sealing the seam with your fingers and keeping the seam-side of the log facing down.

Now take the long log and twist it into one large ring shape. Use your hands to seal the two ends together and any large cracks that form. Gently brush the outside of the ring with non-dairy milk to help with browning before baking in the oven.
Bake the cake for about 25-30 minutes before removing it from the oven and allowing it to cool completely before adding the icing and sprinkles.

How To Decorate King Cake:

Mix together the powdered sugar and a few tablespoons of water until you get a thick but drizzly icing. Pour the icing over the cake and allow it to cover most of the surface.
While the icing is still wet, add the colored sprinkles to separate sections of the cake. No need to be neat here, have fun with it!

How To Hide The Baby In A King Cake

First things first, don't bake the cake with the baby already inside! The plastic baby is not edible and will melt in your cake. Once the cake has been baked but is still warm, you can press the plastic baby or other small trinket into the soft cake dough before decorating with the icing and sprinkles. You can cover the hole with icing and bold-colored sprinkles.

How To Store Leftovers

Store leftover gluten-free king cake in a closed container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days. Store the cake in the fridge for up to 7 days. I prefer to always keep it chilled in the fridge due to the filling.
Freeze the baked cake tightly wrapped in plastic wrap before placing it in a storage container for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake in the fridge before bringing it to room temperature.

Recipe Tips & Tricks

Make sure to line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat before baking the cake. The filing tends to leak out and this will make clean-up much easier.
You can make the dough ahead of time and place the risen dough covered in the fridge overnight. Bring the dough to room temperature before rolling it out and shaping the cake.
To dye your own sugar, pour out about ¼ cup of plain sugar into 3 separate bowls. Add about 1 teaspoon of food coloring to each bowl and mix together, adding more color, until you get your desired shades of purple, green, and gold.

More Recipes For Mardi Gras:

Easy Vegan Dirty Rice
Air Fryer Fried Green Tomatoes
Air Fryer Hush Puppies
Bananas Foster
Southern Vegan Banana Pudding

New Orleans Gluten-Free King Cake (Vegan, Allergy-Free)

Ingredients

Scale

For The Cake Dough:

3 Cups Gluten-Free Baking Flour
1 Packet (2.5 tsp) Active Dry Yeast
1 Cup Warm Water
¼ Cup Granulated Sweetener (or preferred granulated sugar)
½ Tsp Salt
2 Prepared Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacements
¼ Cup (4 TB) Vegan Butter (softened)
2 TB Unsweetened Plain Non-Dairy Milk (for brushing the outside of the cake)

For The Cake Filling:

¾ Cup Brown Sugar Sweetener (or preferred dark or light brown sugar)
½ Tsp Cinnamon
½ Tsp Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract
¼ Cup Vegan Butter (softened) or ½ Cup Plain Vegan Cream Cheese
¼ Tsp Ground Nutmeg (optional)
¼ Cup Raisins (optional)

For The Decorations:

1 to 2 Cups Powdered Sweetener (or preferred powdered sugar)
Water (varies, 2-4 tablespoons)
3-4 TB Purple Sugar Crystals
3-4 TB Green Sugar Crystals
3-4 TB Gold/Yellow Sugar Crystals
1 Plastic Baby (for hiding in baked cake)

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Instructions

Mix the yeast, granulated sweetener, salt, and warm water together in a bowl and let it proof for about 5-10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl combine the gluten-free flour, proofed yeast mixture, prepared egg replacements, and softened butter together. Mix well with a fork before kneading the dough with your hands for a few minutes. Set aside the bowl aside in a warm spot, covered with a towel, to rise for about 45-60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Prepare the cake filling by mixing all the filling ingredients together until smooth and combined, before chilling the mixture in the fridge until you're ready to roll the cake.
Once the dough has risen (it doesn't need to have risen much), roll the dough out on a Silpat mat, plastic wrap, or parchment paper on a flat surface to about ¼ inch thickness in the shape of a large rectangle.
Spread the filling over the rolled-out dough, leaving about 1 inch around the edges of the dough free from filling.
Next, roll the dough into a tight log, like a cinnamon roll, starting with one edge and using the mat to help keep the roll together, like sushi.
Take the long rolled log and carefully form a ring, closing the cake ring together as best you can with your hands and sealing any large cracks that may have formed.
With the formed cake ring on the Silpat or parchment paper (remove any plastic wrap you may have used), place it onto a baking sheet before brushing the ring with the non-dairy milk.
Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on the outside.
Remove the cake and allow it to cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring it to a rise rack and pressing the baby into the cake.
Mix together the powdered sweetener with water, adding water slowly to get a thick icing consistency that is still liquidy enough to drizzle.
With the baked cake transferred to a wire rack, pour or drizzle on the icing and then sprinkle on the colored sugar crystals while the icing is still wet.

Notes

To dye your own sugar crystals, pour out about ¼ cup of plain sugar crystals for each color into 3 separate bowls. Add about 1 teaspoon of food coloring to each bowl and mix together, adding more color, until you get your desired shades of purple, green, and gold.
Store leftovers in a closed container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days. Store the cake in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Freeze the baked cake tightly wrapped in plastic wrap before placing it in a storage container for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake in the fridge before bringing it to room temperature.

Nutrition

Serving Size: Varies

Let the Carnival season begin! Slice up your New Orleans gluten-free king cake, and cross your fingers that you'll be the lucky baby recipient! If you're looking for a plastic baby, Amazon has you covered! Mardi Gras is all about bold, fun, crazy decorations and celebrating, so this messy and delicious king cake is just the thing you need!

So tell me:

+ Does your family celebrate with a king cake (and a baby)?

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