SHORT CUT KING CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FILLING
Easy Short-cut King Cake uses crescent rolls and a creamy filling made in minutes.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup raisins plumped in warm water (or bourbon!)
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 8 ounce cans crescent rolls
Mardi Gras Colored Icing
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 2½ tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- yellow, green, red and blue food coloring
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Plump the raisins in 1/2 cup hot water, or 1/4 cup bourbon or flavorful liquid of choice while you gather the rest of the ingredients.
- Preheat oven 350°F degrees.
- In a food processor or small bowl with a hand mixer; blend cream cheese, vanilla, brown sugar, pecans and raisins until well combined. Fight the urge to eat this with a spoon. They call it "Fat Tuesday" for a reason.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Unroll the crescent rolls and separate them into triangles at perforations.
- Form a circle by placing triangles with the skinny points meeting in the center, overlapping the sides by about ¼ inch. About halfway down from points, press seams together. To be sure you’re on the road to a complete circle; every 4 triangles needs to make ¼ of the circle.
- Evenly spoon the cream cheese filling in a ring, halfway between the center and outside of the circle.
- Now is when you’d hide the baby or trinket in the filling. Living on the edge.
- Fold the wide ends of the triangle over the filling, toward the middle.
- Next, pull the thin ends from the middle toward the outside to enclose the filling. Gently press the seams to close.
- Use the parchment paper to move the king cake to a baking sheet or pizza pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool and drizzle with Mardi Gras icing.
For Mardi Gras Icing
- In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except food color.
- Divide mixture into three bowls and color each part with food coloring.
- In the first bowl add a few drops of green coloring to symbolize faith.
- In the second add a few drops yellow to symbolize power.
- In the last add equal amounts of red and blue coloring to make purple, symbolizing justice.
- Drizzle the icing on the cake. Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler!
Notes
As an option, you can keep the icing white and sprinkle with colored sugar in Mardi Gras colors.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!