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My Aunt Anna made this King’s Cake last Thanksgiving. I took a photo of it and posted it, then got a wave of requests for the recipe. 1 year later (ok, that’s more than a little embarrassing), I am finally posting it!
I just found out this is a Russian cake recipe. Korolevsky means King’s, which makes this a royal cake. Russian and Ukrainian people are known for their fantastic cakes. I’m sure you will enjoy this one!
Each cake layer has 1 cup of sour cream so it turns out very soft and moist. If you make the full recipe with all three different layers, it is very time consuming – not difficult – just time consuming.
According to the original recipe, each cake layer is mixed and baked separately (my wonderful husband so kindly washed my KitchenAid 4 times!!) This triple-layer-cake turned out huge and even a thin slice of cake was a lot!
Next time I make this, I will make double the cake portion at once, then divide the batter in half, put poppy seeds in one and walnuts in the other and bake them together in 2 separate cake pans.
This would make a double layer cake instead of a triple. You can also just make a full poppyseed cake or a full walnut cake and it will be just as good.
Ingredients For the Full 3-LAYER King’s Cake
3 cups sugar
3 cups sour cream
3 cups flour *measured correctly
3 tsp baking soda
3 tsp vinegar
1 Tbsp cocoa powder (I used dutch cocoa powder)
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 cup walnuts, toasted & chopped
Ingredients For Frosting:
Cake Prep Instructions:
How to Make Each Cake Layer:
Frosting Instructions:
1. Using a whisk attachment, beat together on high speed the cooked sweetened condensed milk (at room temp) and 2 sticks of butter for 3 to 4 minutes until fluffy.
Frost once the cake is cooled to room temperature. If you refrigerate the frosting before using, it may become too stiff and you will need to let it stand 15 to 30 minutes until it’s spreadable.
Russian Korolevsky Cake (King's Cake)
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Full 3-LAYER Cake
- 6 extra large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups sugar
- 3 cups sour cream
- 3 cups flour
- 3 tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp vinegar
- 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 cup walnuts, toasted & chopped
Ingredients For Frosting:
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk, cooked and at room temperature
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
Instructions
Prep:
- Cake Prep Instructions:
- Grease and generously flour a 9" non-stick cake pan.
- On a dry skillet, over medium-high heat, toast 1 cup of walnuts until lightly golden then chop into small pieces.
How to Make Each Cake Layer: Preheat the Oven to 380 ˚ F (read note before starting)
- In the bowl of an stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat together 2 eggs and 1 cup sugar until pale yellow (4 minutes on medium/high speed). Reduce the speed to low and add 1 cup flour. Mix until well-blended.
- Put 1 cup sour cream in a large measuring cup. In a small ramekin, combine 1 tsp baking soda with 1 tsp vinegar. It will fizz up, then stir it right away into the sour cream.
- The sour cream will start to visibly rise. Once you notice it rising, mix it into the cake batter using a spatula.
- In the first cake batter, mix in 1 Tbsp cocoa. Repeat steps 1-3 but In the second cake batter, mix in 2 Tbsp poppy seeds and in the third cake batter, mix in 1/2 cup toasted, chopped walnuts.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake at 380˚F for 20-22 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cake layers cool to room temperature.
- Frost the top of each layer (see frosting instructions below)
- Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Frosting Instructions:
- Using a whisk attachment, beat together on high speed the cooked sweetened condensed milk and 2 sticks of butter for 3 to 4 minutes until fluffy. Frost once the cake is cooled to room temperature.
Notes
Filed Under
Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Check out the shop tab on the top
Made this for my daughters first birthday, very easy to make, lots of people liked it, and kids were running around this cake wanting to try it, better then the decorated from the store, cause it was huge. Thank you
The frosting didn’t turn out. It wasn’t fluffy but i followed everything: 2 sticks of butter and 1 can of cooked condensed milk. Do you know any advise to give me for the next time i try?
Hi Jessica, the only thing I can think of is if the condensed milk wasn’t cooled to room temp completely. It should not be warm or it starts to melt the butter. Also, try beating it just a little longer. If you are using a hand mixer, it might take longer than a kitchenaid mixer. Hope that helps.
would it taste weird if i don’t put walnuts, poppy seed, or cocoa powder in the layers? those are just optional right?
I don’t think it would taste weird – those are all just add-ins. They make the cake alot tastier, but you can also do the whole cake poppy seed or all walnut or all chocolate. Whatever you like! 🙂
Natashia
So… is it a Ukrainian or Russian cake/recepie?
I believe it’s Russian.
I’m not a linguist but I think that Korolevsky is the Ukrainian as opposed to Karalevsky the Russian. Ditto on an earlier recipe for Goloobtsy, Russian as opposed to Holubtsy, Ukrainian. The ending for either is I think possessive thereby making the name “the kings cake” or kingly or royal. Nevertheless I believe that the actual name for the Russian equivalent of king is Tsar, which is from the same root as shah.
I appreciate yoru input. We name the recipes based on how people search for them. The equivalent is Tsar but korolevsky means the same thing and it’s just called korolevsky cake
For the frosting, do you use salted butter or unsalted butter or does it matter? Thanks!
Unsalted butter. I always use unsalted unless I write otherwise. I’ll change the recipe to specify. Thanks!
This may seem like a dumb question, but is this King’s Cake thought of and baked with the same intent as the King’s Cake used to celebrate Mardi Gras? I am looking to serve this cake as part of a cultural presentation in graduate school and would like to get as much background on the cake as possible. Any information would be wonderful, Thank you.
All I know is that it’s a Russian cake, so I don’t think it has anything to do with Mardi Gras. There were a couple of explanations for the cake from two of the comments above but I think they were just very good guesses. I’m not sure of the full story behind this cake. It was one of my readers that told me it’s called King’s cake. When my aunt told me the recipe, she didn’t have a name for it. Sorry, that wasn’t much help.
Thank you for the help. The cake I was referring to isn’t just a Mardi Gras cake, but is served during Mardi Gras and has its roots in old world Europe. Early history has it as a cake that a small coin, bean or trinket was placed in, and then served to the people the one who received the trinket was then treated like a king for a year, but the next year would become a human sacrifice. Over the year this tradition is no longer a human sacrifice of course, but receiving what is usually now a small baby figure as the trinket is considered good luck.
Wow, so glad I found your blog. I can tell you put your heart into your cooking and into making this blog, it looks amazing.
I started cooking a year ago and since all my family including my mom (the best cook ever) live in Kiev while I’m in Cali, the recipes and hints I found in your blog are priceless to me 🙂
I am planning to make this cake tonight for tomorrow’s New Year party. I’m sure it will come out great.
By the way I am famous for my Napoleon cake, so if you would like a recipe, let me know.
Happy New Year to you and your family. Keep up the good work
Oh yes yes yes!! I’d love your Napolean cake recipe – if You are famous for it, Im sure it must be amazing!! my email: natashaskitchen@yahoo.com.
thanks for the King’s cake recipe. I will be making this in honor of the King for January 6th!
I hope you enjoy it! I love giving meaning to food. Someone else wrote in that it could be the 3 kings cake for Christmas. Making it in honor of the King of Kings is awesome too!
I made the cake for a party and it turned out to be a great success! 🙂 Everybody loved it! Thanks for an awesome recipe!
You are very welcome 🙂 Thank you for letting me know. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi, this cake looks sooo delicious! I just had a question, do you put anything on each layer of the cake before the frosting, like some juice or syrup so its nice and moist? Or does the frosting makes it moist enough??
I don’t put any kind of syrup on the cakes. There is so much sour cream in the cakes that it isn’t dry at all.
Natasha, I enjoy reading your posts. Question for you: what model KitchenAid do you use? My husband wants to buy me one for Christmas, but he said there are so many models to choose from. What would you recommend? Thanks in advance!
I have the 6 quart kitchenAid Professional 600. I like it very much. There is a 5 quart one at Costco right now, which sould be sufficient if you aren’t baking all the time, or if you have a smaller family.
This cake looks amazing! I love cake! I want to see the inside of this when you cut it.
I forgot to take a picture, but It looks just as good in the inside with the different layers.
WOW.. this really does look good… Thanks much for the recipe?
I notice that you dont line the pan with paper, instead its greased, what is it greased with? butter? did you have trouble trying to get the cake our of the pan? i am worried that it will be stuck or something..
I used oil. Butter is probably just as good. Just make sure to use ample flour to dust it. I used a spatula to get under it and make sure it didn’t stick.
This cake is called “karalevskiy” which means kings in Russian, so it a royal cake;) My aunt makes it all the time and I love it!!!!
Thanks Natasha!!!!!!
Nice knife! And the cake sounds great. Has my mind spinning with variations.
Do you really mean 380 for the baking temperature?
Yes, 380 is correct.
REally?! I don;t think I have ever seen that as a baking temperature before. 350, 375, 400. But not 380. Live and learn.
Lena wrote: his cake is called “karalevskiy” which means kings in Russian, so it a royal cake;)
Ah! So hence the three layers! My guess would be the chocolate layer is the myrrh, the walnut layer the frankincese, and the poppyseed the gold.
I changed the title to include the Korolevsky name. I was so excited to learn that. The layers explanation you just posted makes this the ideal Christmas cake!! Thanks Joe! I was also surprised by the odd baking temp when my aunt gave me the recipe, but it works! 🙂
That is just my wild a** guess, Natasha. If nothing else, it makes a good story. (note – Scripture doesn’t mention how many magi there were, we just infer 3 from the gifts mentioned and assume that each was given by one person. ) But the chopped walnuts look like raw frankincense tears, the chocolate looks like oil of myrrh, and you can imagine the poppyseeds as gold dust, especially if you were to use white ones.
A masterpiece! Is it usually made with three different mix-ins in each layer? Man, that frosting is what gets me the most! So simple, and I can imagine how good it tastes. You might want to note that the can needs to be covered by water at all times during the boiling or it will explode.
Oooh, good point, I will write that in about the water. Yes, each layer has a different mix in. It’s a wonderful cake and the frosting is GOOD 🙂
Thank you Natasha! I’ve been checking your website daily, hourly…lol for new recipes. I’m going to make this for Christmas this year…thank you, thank you….waiting with baited breath for more!
Lesia, you crack me up. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.