Description
This Shortcut Mardi Gras King Cake is an easy-to-make festive dessert perfect for celebrating Mardi Gras. Using canned jumbo cinnamon rolls and a creamy cream cheese icing, this cake is assembled quickly and baked in a Bundt pan, then decorated with colorful sugar crystals in traditional Mardi Gras colors for a delightful treat that serves eight.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 2 (17.5-ounce) cans jumbo cinnamon rolls with icing (each tube has 5 rolls)
Icing
- 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
- Icing packets from cinnamon rolls
- Sugar crystals in purple, yellow, and green (for decorating)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and spray a Bundt or tube pan with non-stick cooking spray to ensure easy removal of the cake after baking.
- Arrange Cinnamon Rolls: Pop open the cans of cinnamon rolls and carefully remove the icing packets. Place the cinnamon rolls in a single layer inside the prepared Bundt pan, squeezing them in if necessary to fill the pan evenly.
- Bake the Cake: Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the rolls are cooked through and no longer gooey in the center.
- Cool the Cake: Once baked, carefully turn the cake out of the pan onto a platter and allow it to cool completely before icing.
- Prepare the Icing: While the cake cools, mix the two icing packets removed from the cinnamon roll cans with 2 ounces of softened cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
- Decorate: Spread the cream cheese icing evenly over the cooled cake. Decorate the top with alternating stripes or patterns of purple, yellow, and green sugar crystals to celebrate Mardi Gras traditions.
Notes
- You can substitute regular sugar for the colored sugar crystals if unavailable, but the traditional colors add festive flair.
- Make sure the cake is fully cooled before icing to prevent melting and sliding of the cream cheese glaze.
- Using jumbo cinnamon rolls provides the right size and texture to mimic a classic King Cake easily.
- If desired, you can add a small plastic baby figurine inside the cake before baking, a fun Mardi Gras tradition.
