Party Time... Mardi Gras King Cake

I love New Orleans. I love the culture, the food, and the atmosphere. Life in New Orleans is so laid back and you can walk the streets with alcohol (Heaven on Earth... haha). Last year, we visited NOLA and I fell in love.

St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square

 

Group of musicians in Jackson Square

 Up close of St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square

The city is alive with music day in and day out. The streets are immersed with creativity and the architecture and monuments are amazing. 

 Rev. Zombie's Voodoo Shop

Joan of Arc Statue

New Orleans Live Music

The first time, I experienced King Cake was at the French Market, and it was love at first bite! 

So, in honor of Fat Tuesday which is tomorrow, I am going to show you to the best of my ability an easy recipe to kick off your Mardi Gras. We will be making an "easy" version on Mardi Gras King Cake, yum!

King Cake is a delicious dessert, usually in the shape of a ring. The icing are in the traditional Mardi Gras colors. Each color represents a meaning of the Mardi Gras spirit: Purple- Justice, Gold- Power, and Green- Faith.

King cake is such a versatile dessert.The cake itself is a danish like consistency. In a King cake, you can have many different fillings: cream cheese, pecan praline, lemon, stawberry, blueberries, or just a plain Jane with nothing. Today we will do an cinnamon dough with a apple/ cream cheese filling.

This recipe will take approximately 30 min. So, preheat those ovens to 350 F and let the baking fun begin!

Prep Time: 10 mins... give or take

Cook Time: 15-20 mins... depending on your oven 

Total time: 30 mins... to be on the safe side 

Shopping list: 

• 8 oz Cream Cheese 
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 cup Applesauce
• 2 cans of crescent rolls 
• 1-1/2 cups Confectioner's Sugar 
• 4 Tablespoons Milk or Cream 
• 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract 
• Purple Green Food Coloring and Purple, Green, and Yellow Sugar Crystals
• Bundt Cake Pan
• Butter Flavor Pam
• Small Plastic Baby

Prep: We are going to begin this by making our filling. First allow your cream cheese to soften. Make sure that it is at a consistency for easy mixing. Take your cream cheese, applesauce, brown sugar, cinnamon in a bowl. Mix the ingredients until well blended together (almost creamy, spreadalbe texture).

  
 First mixing...                              Almost There!





Take the bundt cake pan and spray it down with your PAM! Your oven should already be preheated to 350 F. 

Here is the fun part! Pop open your crescent rolls. Take and separate the triangles, sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon on the dough. Line the bundt cake pan with the crescent roll triangles. Press the overlapped edges together to make a solid ring. 

Take the yummy filling that you made and spread around the ring. Don't forget the baby! Just randomly place it amongst the filling. Take the dough from the center and fold it toward the outer edge. 

Tuck in the edges and press the edges together... Put it in the oven and bake till golden brown (15-20 mins, give or take). Cool it, to room temperature. 

Making the icing, you will take the confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and milk/ cream (I personally use Almond Milk... I am lactose intolerant), put all into a bowl. Whisk until the texture is smooth. Add more milk/cream if necessary. Now take the icing and divide into 3 separate containers if using food coloring. Add 2 drops of each food coloring to each bowl.

Take the frosting either into a pastry bag or use a spoon to drip over the cake in large stripe sections. Take the sugar crystals and sprinkle over appropriate color. Let it sit for an hour for the icing to firm and serve!

Remember whoever finds the baby, must supply next year's King Cake or throw the next Mardi Gras Party!
Now give me some beads!

-Charlene ;)

Side note: You do not have to make a Cinnamon Apple King Cake. You can replace it with anything. Be creative, be daring... do something out of the norm! Enjoy!