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Ok Beet-eaters – get ready to laissez les bons temps roulez! Mardi Gras is right around the corner, and what Mardi Gras would be complete without a traditional King Cake! Well, maybe it’s not totally traditional, but with this oil-free, dairy-free King Cake recipe, you and your Krewe will be guilt-free too!
This recipe is largely based on Vegan Richa’s cinnamon roll recipe, borrowing some oil-free modifications from Sweet and Simple Vegan’s version, and then adding a few of my own twists. Some of the modifications were made to reduce the sugar content, and other modifications were meant to streamline the baking process, and make the most use of down-time.
My frosting looked better in the jars than on the actual cake, but I suspect that if you use plenty of confectioner’s sugar yours will turn out better than mine
The frosting looked great in the jars, but did not turn out very opaque on the cake, and therefore the pigments didn’t show up very well. I think this is because I ran out of confectioner’s sugar, and had to improvise with some other sweeteners I used 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar per color. If you find that your frosting is too runny to show it’s true colors, add a bit more confectioner’s sugar until you get the pop of color you’re looking for. The amount called for in this recipe should work, but if it doesn’t, don’t be afraid to add some more.
The Ultimate Vegan King Cake
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 6-10 dates depending on how sweet you want it to be
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 2.5 cups flour + up to 1 cup more for kneading
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup aquafaba the water from a can of chickpeas or white beans
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 packet of active dry yeast or 2.5 tsp
- 2 tbsp apple sauce
CREAMY CINNAMON-ORANGE FILLING:
- 1/2 cup skinned and soaked almonds cashews or macadamias would work too
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cardamom or nutmeg optional
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup orange juice approx. the juice of half a large orange
PURPLE FROSTING:
- 3/4 cup organic powdered sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp vegan milk or soy creamer
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp blueberry jam or more, depending on the color
- 4-6 shavings of a raw beet strips shaved off with a vegetable peeler
GREEN FROSTING:
- 3/4 cup organic powdered sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp vegan milk or soy creamer
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 6-8 leaves of mint or spinach
GOLD FROSTING:
- 3/4 cup organic powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp vegan milk or soy creamer
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/8 cup orange juice
- 1/4 tsp tumeric
OPTIONAL
- 1-2 tablespoons of coconut sugar or other granulated vegan sugar for crunch
- 1 large nut or dry bean for “the baby” to hide in the cake
Instructions
MAKE DOUGH:
- Place dates in the boiling water and allow to soak while you assemble the other ingredients (approx 10 mins). If your almonds are not already soaked, you may also cover them with boiling water at this time and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour, the salt and nutritional yeast.
- In a tall wide-mouth mason jar or glass, combine aquafaba, apple sauce, maple syrup.
- When the date-water has cooled to approximately 100-110 degrees F (like warm bath water), remove the dates and add the yeast to the water. Set aside for 5-10 minutes to allow yeast to activate.
- While the yeast is activating, pit the dates and add them to the mason jar with the liquid ingredients. Then use an immersion blender to liquify the dates with the liquids.
- When the yeast has begun to foam up, make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then add the yeast slurry along with the other wet ingredients and stir to combine. You may add more flour, about 2 tablespoons at a time, until a loose dough begins to form.
- Knead the dough (or put in a stand mixer with hook attachment) for approx 5-10 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides. Again, you may add flour 1 tbsp at a time until a smooth consistency is achieved.
- Cover the dough ball in the bowl with a damp tea towel, or a lightly floured piece of plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size. (you can skip this rise if you’re in a hurry)
MAKE THE CREAMY CINNAMON-ORANGE FILLING:
- Add the soaked almonds to a jar and combine with water, orange juice and lemon juice and apple cider vinegar, salt, nutritional yeast and spices. Blend with an immersion blender until a thick paste is formed. (You may add plant-based milk or soy creamer if the mixture is too thick) It does not have to be perfectly smooth.
ROLL AND BRAID THE DOUGH:
- When the dough has doubled in size, uncover, punch it down, and turn it out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out into approximately a square shape, about 10×14 inches. Brush lightly with vegan milk and measure approximately how to divide the sheet into three long strips.
- Spread about 1/3 of the filling out on the first section of dough, leaving about 1/2 inch of dough uncovered.
- Stretch the dough towards you gently, and then roll it over the filling until it reaches the uncovered section, and then cut the dough lengthwise to form a long jelly roll. Pinch to seal. Flour the seam of the first jellyroll, and then roll it gently away from the other sections so it is resting on it’s seam.
- Repeat these steps two more times to make two more long jelly rolls of equal length to the first. (Optional: During this stage, you may want to hide the pecan half or the dried bean somewhere in one of the jelly rolls – this is the “baby”).
- When all three strips have been formed, gently roll the strips towards each other until they are close enough to join one of the ends. Pinch the ends and tuck under to seal. Braid the three strips together, and then pinch the ends together to seal.
- Transfer the braid onto a lightly-floured, parchment-lined pan. As you move the braid over, wrap it into an oval-shaped ring, and then pinch the ends together and tuck them under to seal. Cover again with lightly floured plastic wrap, then allow to rise again for 30 mins, or until the bread has doubled in size.
- While the bread rises, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
MAKE THE FROSTING:
- In three separate jars, add the separate batches of ingredients for the purple, green and gold frostings. Use an immersion blender to combine and liquify the ingredients.
BAKE:
- When the dough has risen, bake at 350-degrees for approximately 20 minutes, or until the top becomes golden brown.
DECORATE:
- Allow to cool completely before frosting the cake in bands of color. Sprinkle coconut sugar or granulated sugar on top, and serve. Makes 10-12 generous portions.
The Vegan Cake was delicious!