I’m going to be right up front and say that this is a very loose approximation of King’s Cake. It’s more so us grain-free, sugar-free folks can join in the fun. When I started out making this recipe, I had envisioned being able to come up with the three colors, but it didn’t quite work out, so I only have two of the traditional colors and my purple looks more red.
If you make your own cake and come up with some better ways to color the icing, please let me know. I’ll probably revisit this cake in the future and see what I can do.
What is a King Cake?
Traditional King’s Cake is more of a bread than a cake. It’s made with a yeast-based dough and not a cake batter. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so hard to adapt to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ (SCD™). The dough is rolled in a pinwheel with a cinnamon and sugar mixture, kind of like an upright cinnamon roll. It’s then frosted in yellow, green, and blue frosting.
Oh yeah and there’s a little baby doll hidden somewhere in the cake.
The cake is a traditional dessert served during the Carnival celebrations, which begin in January and end on the day before Ash Wednesday – aka Mardi Gras, aka Fat Tuesday.
Making a Grain-Free SCD™ King Cake
My version is more cake-like than bread-like, but it’s quite tasty. The cake pictured here is thin, but you could use a smaller pan to make a taller cake. I would also recommend a small 7″ Bundt pan. I decided to use a regular round pan because I wasn’t sure how sticky it would be since I had never made it before. With coconut oil and a liner, it didn’t stick at all, and I imagine if you sufficiently oil a Bundt pan the cake will come out fine. I will use a Bundt pan next time I make this.
In this case, I used a small glass to cut out the middle to make the wreath shape. This worked find and also gave me a chance to taste the cake.
Instead of doing a roll cake – I wanted to keep things simple – I swirled a cinnamon sauce in the cake, kind of like doing a marble cake. This provided the extra kick of cinnamon flavor I was looking for.
What do you need to make a Grain-Free King Cake?
For this cake I used a combination of cashew and coconut flour. You can substitute any other nut flour you prefer for the cashew flour. I like the texture of cashew flour for cakes because it makes them a little more spongy.
As I mentioned, King Cake has multi-colored frosting that is Green, Yellow, and Purple. To color my frosting, I used Turmeric for the yellow. Turmeric doesn’t have much flavor and I couldn’t taste it all in frosting so you can feel safe using it to get a nice yellow color. You don’t need very much.
The other colors were harder. I tired blackberries to get the purple color, but the juice turned it more red than purple. I thought I was going to be able to mix the blue-ish of the blackberries with the Turmeric to get green, but that didn’t work at all so on my cake I have a little yellow and kind of two shades of red. I will need to work on that a little more, but the idea still came through.
Matcha would work to turn the frosting green, but that is not SCD™ legal, but anyone not strictly SCD™ could give it a try.
King Cake Ingredients:
- Cashew or other nut flour, such as almond flour or pecan flour
- Coconut Flour
- Plain yogurt (SCD™)
- Eggs
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Honey
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Lemon juice
- Cinnamon
- Butter
King Cake Frosting Ingredients
- Cocoa butter (the kind in the little discs is easiest to measure – I used 8 discs for this recipe)
- Butter
- Honey
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Turmeric
- Frozen fruit that is thawed so it is juicy – blackberries, blueberries, cherries
King Cake Equipment
- Cake pan – 8 or 9″ round, 7″ Bundt, or even a small loaf pan would work
- Coconut oil for greasing the pan (don’t melt, just at room temp so it sticks to the sides of your pan)
- Mixing bowl
- Stand or electric mixer
- Spatula or silicon spoon
Let me know if you make this recipe and if you came up with any new ideas for the shape or the frosting!
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Grain-Free King Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup plain yogurt (SCD™)
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ½ cup cashew (or other nut) flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- Coconut oil for greasing pan
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1 tbsp butter – melted
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp honey
Frosting
- 4 tbsp butter – softened (not melted)
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp cocoa butter – melted (I used 8 discs)
- dash ground Turmeric
- drops liquid from thawed fruit
Instructions
Cake
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If using round pan line with a parchment paper liner and thoroughly grease sides with softened coconut oil. All other pans, thoroughly grease with softened coconut oil
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Separate eggs – reserve whites and yolks in separate containers
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Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and set aside (or carefully remove from stand mixer bowl)
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Beat egg yolks for about 30 seconds
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Add melted butter – be careful it is not hot or it will cook the egg – for best results, slowly drizzle the butter into the eggs while beating at low speed
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Add the vanilla, yogurt, honey, and lemon juice
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Beat on medium speed for about a minute until everything is well combined
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Add the nut flour, coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt
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Beat another minute to combine everything
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Carefully fold in the egg whites so everything is combined, but still airy
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Pour into prepared baking pan
Cinnamon Swirl
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Whisk melted butter, honey, and cinnamon to form a syrup
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Drizzle over cake batter
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Use a knife to swirl the cinnamon mixture around, but don't stir it in
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Bake for 30 minutes (or 35 – 40 if using Bundt or other pan for taller cake) until top in golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
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Cool in pan on wire rack for 30 minutes
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Loosen edges by running a butter knife around the sides of the cake, turn pan over and gently turn cake onto wire rack (tap bottom with butter knife if using Bundt pan)
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Cool cake completely before frosting
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Once cake is cooled you can place on a plate and use a glass (if you used a regular round cake pan) to cut out the middle of the cake to make the wreath shape
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Cut hole in middle of cake
Honey Butter Cream Frosting
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Add softened butter honey, and vanilla to mixing bowl – or stand mixer bowl
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Beat on high speed for a few minutes until butter and honey are creamed together and have a soft frosting-like texture
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While beating on low speed, drizzle in melted cocoa butter
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Increase speed to medium and beat for another minute until desired texture
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Separate frosting into thirds
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Add a dash of Turmeric and whisk until combined and frosting is desired yellow
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For coloring with fruit: Add just a few drops and whisk. If you add too much liquid the frosting will separate and won't combine
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Spread frosting on cake in desired pattern
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Chill in refrigerator for a more solidified frosting
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Store cake in refrigerator for up to 4 days or freezer for up to three months
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