Easy Recipe for Mardi Gras King Cake
A quick-to-prepare king cake uses refrigerated crescent rolls for the dough and is filled with a raisin, pecan, and cinnamon cream cheese mixture.
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Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins in a food processor; blend until combined. Add pecan halves and pulse until chopped into 1/4-inch pieces, then set aside.
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Coat a pizza pan or baking sheet with cooking spray. Unroll crescent roll dough, separating it into triangles. Arrange triangles in a large round on the sheet with points toward the center, overlapping sides by 1/4 inch; press the center seams together.
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Spread the prepared filling in a ring over the sealed center seam. Place a small ceramic or heatproof plastic baby (or dried bean) into the filling. Fold the wide end of each triangle over the filling, then pull the pointed ends towards the outer rim and tuck under to fully enclose the filling; lightly press the seams.
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Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown. Let cool completely to room temperature.
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For the frosting, whisk together confectioners' sugar, milk or cream, and vanilla extract until smooth and thick enough to slowly drip. Spoon the frosting in a circle over the cooled king cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.
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Alternatively, for colored frosting, divide the prepared frosting evenly among three bowls. Color one purple (using red and blue food coloring), one yellow, and one green. Transfer each colored frosting to a separate zip-top bag, snip off one corner, and pipe wide stripes onto the king cake.
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For Mardi Gras decoration, sprinkle wide stripes of purple, green, and yellow sugar crystals. Allow the frosting to firm up for approximately one hour.