Mardi Gras Braided Bread & King Cake Donuts

Mardi Gras calls for baking with abandon, and this festive pair answers gladly: a filled, braided bread glazed and sprinkled in Carnival colors, alongside a batch of king cake donuts to match. Together they turn a kitchen into a celebration, all purple, green, and gold, sweet and yeasted and joyful. Whether you are throwing a proper Fat Tuesday party or simply love an excuse to bake something festive, this spread brings the spirit of the season right to your table.

The Braided Bread

Mix and proof the enriched dough, fill it, and roll it jelly-roll style into the loaf pans before glazing. The shaping looks impressive but is simply patient work — a well-proofed dough shapes easily, and the filled, rolled loaf bakes up soft and festive, ready for its colorful glaze.

The King Cake Donuts

Fry the yeasted donut dough until golden and puffed, then glaze and sprinkle them in the traditional Carnival colors to match the bread. Fried fresh and glazed while warm, they are pillowy and celebratory — a playful companion to the braided loaf and a joyful centerpiece in their own right.

Jorj Morgan

Mardi Gras Braided Bread & King Cake Donuts

A definitive guide to enriched yeast dough, featuring the braided Mardi Gras Bread with a sweet cream cheese filling, and impossibly fluffy Heirloom King Cake Donuts.

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Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Wait Time (Rising) 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Servings: 18 servings

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

  

The Mardi Gras Bread

• 2 (.25-ounce) envelopes active dry yeast, about 4 ½ teaspoons
• 5 ½ cups bread flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ cup warm water, plus 1 ½ cups more

The Bread Filling

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon dried lemon peel, grated

The Bread Glaze & Sprinkles

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• ¼ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Sprinkles, purple, green, and gold sprinkles

The Donut Dough - Dry Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast, or instant
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

The Donut Dough - Wet & Frying

• 1 cup milk, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Vegetable oil, for frying

The Donut Glaze

• 1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 6 tablespoons half and half or heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Purple, green, and gold sprinkles

Equipment

• 1 Standard 9x5-inch metal loaf pan
• 1 Heavy-duty wire cooling rack
• 1 Parchment paper roll
• 1 Heavy-bottomed cast-iron skillet
• 1 Heavy-bottomed saucepan

Method

 

Making the Bread Dough

1. Stir the yeast in a bowl with ½ cup warm water. Let sit until the liquid is foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir to combine.
3. With the motor running on slow, add the yeast water and 1 ½ cups more warm water.
4. Once the flour is moistened, increase the speed and mix until the dough forms around the hook, about 5 to 8 minutes. Increase the speed again and continue to mix, adding in the butter just a bit at a time.
5. Mix until the dough is tight and shiny, about another 8 to 10 minutes.
6. Turn the dough out onto your work surface and knead for about 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Form the dough into a ball and set it into a bowl sprayed with vegetable oil spray. Roll the dough around in the bowl to coat all sides.
8. Cover with a clean dish towel and place in a warm, dry place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Filling and Baking the Bread

1. Add the cream cheese, ½ cup granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, egg, and lemon peel to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Mix to combine.
2. Coat 2 (9 x 5 x 3-inch) loaf pans with vegetable oil spray.
3. Check the dough. It will spring back slowly when you poke your finger into it.
4. Divide the dough in half and form it into two balls. Take one ball of dough and roll into a 10 x 6-inch rectangle.
5. Spread half of the filling onto the dough.
6. Roll the dough (jelly roll style) over the filling.
7. Place the rolled dough into a loaf pan. Repeat with the second ball of dough.
8. Again, cover the loaf pans with the towel and set aside to rise for 30 to 45 minutes. The dough should rise to about ½ inch from the top of the loaf pan.
9. Preheat your oven to 400°.
10. Place the pans into the oven and bake until the tops are golden, about 35 to 40 minutes.
11. Remove the loaves from the oven. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer from the pan to a wire rack. Cool completely.
12. For the glaze, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and buttermilk.
13. Stir in vanilla extract.
14. The glaze should be thick yet pourable.
15. Drizzle the glaze over the loaves.
16. Shake sprinkles over the glaze.

Making the Donut Dough

1. Place the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, yeast, kosher salt, and nutmeg into a mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment.
2. Whisk the milk, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract together, pour into the dry ingredients, and mix until the dough just comes together.
3. Rest the dough for 5 minutes, switch to a dough hook, and beat until it pulls away from the sides, about 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Transfer to an oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Frying and Glazing the Donuts

1. Roll the risen donut dough on a floured surface, cut out rings with a donut cutter, place on parchment, and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
2. Heat the vegetable oil to 350° in a deep pot and fry the donuts in small batches until golden on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes total.
3. Transfer the fried donuts to a wire rack set over paper towels to drain.
4. Whisk the sifted confectioners' sugar, cream, and vanilla extract together, dip warm donuts into the glaze, and immediately douse with sprinkles.