Treat yourself to some rich and heavy fatty foods for Mardi Gras 2017. Bake and decorate king cakes with these quick and easy king cake recipes. You can also substitute the ingredients to bake a gluten-free king cake instead.
3 King Cake Recipes
Cream Cheese and Cinnamon-Filled King Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cans (8 ounces) reduced-fat crescent rolls
- 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¹⁄3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Mardi Gras icing:
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons skim milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Yellow, green, red, and blue food coloring
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F and spray cooking spray on a 10-inch pizza pan.
Separate the crescent rolls into 16 slices and place them around the pan with their points in the center. About halfway down from the points, press seams together.
Beat cream cheese, vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar in a bowl until creamy. Spread on dough in center where seams have been pressed together.
In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle it over cream cheese.
Fold dough points over filling, and then fold the bottom of the triangle over the points, forming a circular roll like a king cake.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool and drizzle with colored Mardi Gras icing.
Directions for Mardi Gras icing
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, except for the food coloring. Divide the mixture into three bowls.
In first bowl, add a few drops of yellow food coloring, and add a few drops of green food coloring in the second bowl.
In the third bowl, add equal amounts of red and blue food coloring. Drizzle over baked cake.
Traditional New Orleans King Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 packages (¼-ounce each) active dry yeast
- ½ cup warm water (110° to 115°F)
- ½ cup warm 2% milk (110° to 115°F)
- 2 egg yolks
- ¾ cup sugar, divided
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 ¼ to 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 egg, beaten
For glaze:
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2-3 tablespoons water
- Green, purple, and yellow sugars
Directions
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add half cup sugar, milk, egg yolks, butter, salt, lemon peel, nutmeg, and two cups flour. Beat until smooth and stir in the remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Put the dough on a floured surface and knead it until smooth and elastic, about eight minutes. Put the dough in a greased bowl and grease it from the top. Cover and rest for an hour.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 16-inch by 10-inch rectangle. Combine cinnamon and sugar, and sprinkle it over the dough to within half an inch from the edges.
Starting with a long side, roll it up jelly-roll style and pinch seams to seal. Place it seam-side down on a greased baking sheet and pinch the ends together to form a ring. Cover and let it rise until doubled, about an hour.
Brush it with egg and bake it at 375°F for 25 to 30 minutes.
For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and water until you get the desired consistency. Spread it over the cake after it cools. Sprinkle with colored sugars.
Super Easy Mardi Gras King Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 cans (14 ounces) refrigerated sweet roll dough
- 2 cans (12 fluid ounces) creamy vanilla ready-to-spread frosting
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 drops green food coloring
- 2 drops yellow food coloring
- 1 drop red food coloring
- 1 drop blue food coloring
- ½ cup multi-colored sprinkles
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a baking sheet.
Unroll the dough from each can into three strands. Place the three dough strands side-by-side, and gather them together to make one large strand. Then, fold it in half and roll slightly to make a fat log. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Place each log on the baking sheet and shape to make a ring, while overlapping the ends and pinching them together to make a circle. Pat the dough to make the ring even in size. Cover with foil.
Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 50 to 60 minutes. Check often to avoid over-baking. Place the cake on a wire rack and cool completely. Then transfer it to a serving plate.
Divide the frosting evenly between four bowls, and add a tablespoon of milk into each bowl to thin the frosting. Drizzle frosting from the bowls over the cake.
To the remaining bowls, add yellow color to one and green color to the other. Add blue and red color to the third bowl to make purple.
Drizzle the cake with the three frostings. Decorate it with sprinkles and beads.
Sources:
Clegg, H., “How to Make King Cake with Crescent Rolls -My Easy King Cake Recipe!,” The Healthy Cooking Blog web site, February 10, 2017; http://thehealthycookingblog.com/how-to-make-king-cake/#.WKvRZvF95ph.
“Traditional New Orleans King Cake Recipe,” Taste of Home web site; http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/traditional-new-orleans-king-cake.
“Super Easy Mardi Gras King Cake,” Allrecipes web site; http://allrecipes.com/recipe/60241/super-easy-mardi-gras-king-cake/, last accessed February 21, 2017.
