Got leftover King Cake? Wonder how it freezes. Find out whether or not it's a good idea to freeze those leftovers.
Traveling the country as I do I get to learn about what regional foods people get super passionate about. Many of them revolve around special dates on the calendar. In the Midwest when it comes to Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, we get a rich doughnut called a Paczki. Stores are filled with all different flavors of them.
This year I am in the Biloxi, Mississippi. No Paczkis to be found really besides a few random boxes I saw at a Walmart. Instead there are King Cakes in all sort of flavors. I have seen these in stores in my home state of Michigan before, but never to the extend I am seeing them down here.
King cakes are rather large, so if your household is not, you might find yourself with some leftovers. What can you do with them? Will turning to the freezer be a good idea? I decided to test it out myself. You are welcome!
❄️ How to Freeze
To test this out, I bought a King Cake. Served up several slices to the family and then saved a large slice to freeze.
When you put the leftovers into a bag, you could also wrap it in foil before hand to protect it better. However if the icing on top is soft it could stick a lot and you can use it. I suggest freezing it so the icing hardens up, then you can take it back out and wrap it in foil if you like.
You can freeze a King Cake for up to 3 months before the quality should be effected. So if you wanted you could serve one up for Memorial Day cookout!
🥶 Freezing a Whole Cake
Maybe you want to freeze an entire cake. I would say to just put it in the freezer in the box it came in. And then thaw it out before eating. The box should be sturdy so your cake won't get crushed by anything.
Check out our recipe to make Mini King Cakes using Croissant Dough. We also cook them in our air fryer!
🍴 Eating After Freezing
There are a few options for eating the King Cake after freezing. You could just take it out and eat it cold. It's not going to freeze so solid you can't get it. It's not ice!
If you want it to be most like when you bought it, then let it sit out and come up to room temperature. When I did this I did not notice any decline in quality.
What if you want to heat it up? You could try the microwave. I gave it a shot. I put a piece in the microwave for just 20 seconds. It was delicious still. Warm pastries are my jam! The icing will start to melt a little, but if you keep your microwave time short, it won't be an issue. The only negative is that I think the flaky texture wasn't as good when I microwaved it but it was only minor, nothing that keep me from enjoying the cake still.
🧀 Cream Cheese Filled
Until I came down to Mississippi during Mardi Gras I didn't even know you could find filled King Cakes. Cream cheese was a popular option at Rouses Market. Does freezing effect these King Cakes differently? I do not think so. The cheese cream filled ones are a little more sensitive to going bad and might be better stored in the fridge when you bring home if you aren't going to eat it right away. But stores do stock them outside of refrigeration so it's not vital.
What is your favorite flavor of King Cake? Where do you like to buy them? Leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you.
Leave a Reply