Name: Mardi Gras King Cake Recipe
Cook time: 4 h
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Ingredients: 1 cup whole milk, heated (about 105°F to 115°F); 1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons); Vegetable oil; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon fine salt; 2 teaspoons orange zest; 4 large egg yolks, beaten; 2 tablespoons bourbon; 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice; 2 teaspoons almond extract; 4 cups all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg; 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), chilled and cut into small pieces; 3 cups pecans, toasted and cooled; 2/3 cup granulated sugar; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1/8 teaspoon fine salt; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), small dice; 1 egg yolk; 1 tablespoon milk; 1 small plastic baby (optional); 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar; 1 tablespoon bourbon; 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice; 3 tablespoons sanding sugar

Why it works: Almond and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,115 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Almond + nutmegtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,115 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,673 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Orange + almondtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,125 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Orange + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,746 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, egg, almond, flour, nutmeg, butter):

Raisinfits better
Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, egg, almond, flour, nutmeg, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Pecan	1 half (4g)	20
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Almond	1 almond (1.2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Mardi Gras King Cake Recipe