The traditional King Cake for Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a yeast ring, topped with white icing and sanding, sparkling, or other decorating sugar in the colors of New Orleans: purple, green, and gold. But of course, you don’t have to use a yeast ring to make a King Cake. The top chefs of New Orleans create their own special versions in individual portions for dessert.

So you can apply the icing and sparkling sugar to cupcakes, ice cream cakes, panna cotta, cookies, whatever. Our easy idea is to make your favorite bundt cake, layer cake, sheet cake, or other cake and top it with boiled white icing and sparkling sugar.

> More Mardi Gras recipes.

> The history of Mardi Gras.

> The history of the Bundt cake.
 
 
RECIPE: MARDI GRAS KING CAKE BUNDT

Bake or buy a 12-cup Bundt cake.

For the from-scratch recipe for the cake (photo #1), visit Brown Eyed Baker.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. WHISK the powdered sugar and milk together in a bowl until smooth. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.

2. SPRINKLE one-sixth of the top with half of the yellow sugar, then repeat on the opposite side. Repeat with green and purple sugars to form alternating bands of color.

[ ] A Bundt cake topped with King Cake icing and colored sugar (photo © Brown Eyed Baker).

[2] A classic King Cake yeast cake (photo © King Arthur Baking).