How to make a Mardi Gras King Cake

It’s almost time to don those purple, gold, and green beads and celebrate Fat Tuesday! Don’t live in New Orleans? No problem, we’re sharing how you can whip up an easy Mardi Gras King Cake for you and your friends! Whoever finds the baby charm has to supply next year’s King Cake, but you might not mind when you see how easy and delicious it is to make.

Mardi Gras King Cake

Serves 12

Ingredients:

• 2 cans crescent rolls (total of 12 individual crescent rolls)
• 4-ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup pecans (or other nuts)
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Purple, green, and yellow sugar crystals and/or food coloring
• Small plastic baby charm

Directions:

1. Soak raisins in bowl of water for 15 minutes; remove and pat dry; place raisins along with cream cheese, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl with whisk attachment and mix until combined; add pecan halves and stir until combined; set aside. This is your filling.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a pizza pan or baking sheet with vegetable oil spray.
3. Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into triangles; place crescent triangles side by side with the points toward the center, overlapping the long sides about 1/4-inch, forming a large round. Where the pieces overlap, press the seams together only in the center of each seam, leaving either end of the seams unsealed so you can fold them up over the filling.
4. Spread the filling around in a ring covering the center sealed seam of each triangle. Place small plastic baby in the filling. Fold the short side of each triangle toward the center just to the edge of the filling to cover, then pull the point end of the triangles toward the outer rim of the pan to fully enclose the filling, tucking under the points; lightly press the seams. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown; let cool to room temperature.

To make icing:

1. whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
2. Spoon the icing in a ring over the top of the King Cake.
3. To decorate, sprinkle wide stripes of purple, green, and yellow colored sugar crystals. Enjoy!

More Mardi Gras recipes

A moutwatering Mardi Gras menu
Throw a Mardi Gras party
Celebrating Mardi Gras