I was born and raised in New Orleans, so you can imagine I have special cravings for my New Orleans-inspired dishes, especially around Mardi Gras time because that is what Fat Tuesday is all about! We get to party right before Ash Wednesday starts, and everyone is on their best behavior for Lent. I do love me a traditional King Cake, but I have also been watching my waist line recently, so I have been searching the internet for a low-calorie King Cake recipe. My Air Fryer has been a great tool for helping me cut calories, so you can imagine how excited I was to try my hand at an Air Fryer King Cake Recipe! Check it out and let me know what you think of my King Cake recipe made in the air fryer!
My most popular recipe is in fact a New Orleans dish: it is an air fryer beignet recipe! Of course, that is not my only air fryer recipe on my site. Some of my personal favorites are: Boudin King Cake recipe, air fryer mini king cakes recipe, air fryer twinkie recipe, air fryer S’Mores recipe, air fryer naan recipe, air fryer churro recipe, and air fryer french toast sticks recipe. As you can tell, I love my Air Fryer, and I hope you enjoy my newest creation. Behold, my air fryer king cake recipe!
Air Fryer King Cake Recipe
The Mardi Gras celebrations aren’t complete without the New Orleans tradition of a king’s cake to honor the day. Along with the carnival season to celebrate, a Mardi Gras king cake is a must for your Mardi Gras party. Sure, the stores carry them, but it is easy to make your own king cake, a homemade king cake, to enjoy the day with a recipe with fewer calories.
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter (melted)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk (room temp)
- 2 packets active dry yeast
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TBS orange zest
- 1/2 TBS lemon zest
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
GLAZE
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 TBS milk
Instructions
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In an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar (some prefer to mix in a little brown sugar), salt and melted butter until well creamed on medium speed.
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Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition and continue to cream on low speed.
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Pour the milk into a small bowl and add the packets of yeast. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes until dissolved. Set aside.
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Add in the vanilla, orange zest and lemon zest to the mixing large bowl and blend.
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Pour in the the milk and dissolved yeast and blend the yeast mixture.
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Add the flour mixture and mix on low until the dough tightens. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball and climbs slightly up the dough hook.
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Remove the dough from the bowl. Coat the dough with 1/2 cup of canola oil. Return the dough to the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Set in a warm, draft-free place, and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
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After the dough has rested in a warm place, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough for 10 minutes.
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Roll dough out into an oblong piece.
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Brush the dough with canola oil covering the entire piece.
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In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar liberally over the entire piece of dough.
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Once the dough is covered with the cinnamon sugar and oil, fold it in half lengthwise.
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Cut the dough into 3 long strips and lay the strips side-by-side. Press the edges to seal. Now it’s time to braid the dough.
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Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.
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Cover and allow the dough to rest again until it doubles in size in a warm spot, about 1 hour.
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Place in Air Fryer & cook for 15 mins at 350 degrees f, making sure to flip your King Cake every 5 minutes or so. It will be a golden brown when complete.
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While King Cake is cooking, make the glaze by whisking together 1 cup of the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the milk. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake (make sure it is cooled on a wire rack first).
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Sprinkle the three colored sugars for Mardi gras colors on top of the King Cake alternating the colors.
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Add the king cake baby to see who will have the next king cake party and slice and serve. Good Luck!
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Air Fryer King Cake Recipe
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk room temp
- 2 pack active dry yeast
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TBS orange zest
- 1/2 TBS lemon zest
- 4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 TBS milk
Instructions
- In an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar, salt and melted butter until well creamed.Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition and continue to cream.Pour the milk into a small bowl and add the packets of yeast. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes until dissolved. Set aside.Add in the vanilla, orange zest and lemon zest to the mixing bowl and blend.Pour in the the milk and dissolved yeast and blend.Add the flour and mix on low until the dough tightens. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball and climbs slightly up the dough hook.Remove the dough from the bowl. Coat the dough with 1/2 cup of canola oil. Return the dough to the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Set in a warm, draft-free place, and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.After the dough has rested, turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead the dough for 10 minutes.Roll the dough out into an oblong piece.Brush the dough with canola oil covering the entire piece.In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar liberally over the entire piece of dough.Once the dough is covered with the cinnamon sugar and oil, fold it in half lengthwise.Cut the dough into 3 long strips and lay the strips side-by-side. Press the edges to seal. Now it’s time to braid the dough.Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.Cover and allow the dough to rest again until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.Place in Air Fryer & cook for 15 mins at 350 degrees, making sure to flip your King Cake every 5 minutes or so. It will be a golden brown when complete.While King Cake is cooking, make the glaze by whisking together 1 cup of the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the milk. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the King Cake (make sure it is cooled first).Sprinkle the three colored sugars on top of the King Cake alternating the colors.Slice and serve.
