This time saving King Cake recipe relies on crescent rolls to keep it simple and quick. It has a rich and creamy cinnamon filling that is reminiscent of the inside of a warm gooey cinnamon roll.
I don’t know about you, but when it comes to celebrating holidays with special foods I love the idea of it, but then I just don’t ever seem to have the time to make it. Enter this easy King Cake made with crescent roll dough. This festive cake takes store bought crescent rolls and transforms them into an intricate looking festive New Orleans style cinnamon filled ring cake.
The Tradition of King Cake
King Cake is a fun tradition that most people associate with Mardi Gras aka Fat Tuesday, but Catholic tradition actually leads us back to Epiphany as the date when most people would eat King Cake.
Today most people associate the cake with sweet bread types of ring cakes that can have different fillings, but most importantly have a trinket hidden inside. This trinket is a plastic baby Jesus and whomever has the good fortune of getting this slice gets to be “king” for a day.
If you’re interested in the history and origins of King Cake check out this article on Eater.
This time saving King Cake recipe relies on crescent rolls to keep it simple and quick. It has a rich and creamy cinnamon filling that is reminiscent of the inside of a cinnamon roll. It’s baked in a bundt pan, so you don’t have to worry about how the crescent rolls are folded because it will have a pretty and uniform shape. And then the King Cake is topped with an almond glaze and of course, purple, gold and green decorations!
How to make a Cresent Roll King Cake:
Step 1: Preheat your oven and prepare a bundt pan with nonstick baking spray so that it will be easy to get it out of the pan later!
Step 2. Place 2 cans of crescent rolls in the bottom of your bundt pan so that that ends of the crescent rolls are laying up the sides of the pan.
Step 3. Mix up the filling.
Step 4. Drop it by spoonfuls evenly over the crescent roll dough.
Step 5. Fold the ends over the top of the filling. Now is the time to place the baby in part of the layers of crescent rolls. Pinch the edges of the dough to seal them.
Step 6. Bake the king cake for approximately 23-27 minutes or until it’s golden brown. It will need to cool for about 5 minutes before turning it out of the bundt pan.
Step 7. When the cake has cooled, Make the powdered sugar glaze and decorate the cake with the characteristic green, gold, and purple sugar or sprinkles.
You can buy all the decorations for King Cake separately, but there are also handy King Cake sets available on Amazon that have everything you need. That’s what I got.
Here are a few more recipes perfect for your Mardi Gras celebration:
- Oven Baked Muffaletta
- Dirty Rice with Sausage
- Succotash Salad with Pickled Okra Vinaigrette
- Strawberry Shandy
Crescent Roll King Cake
Crescent Roll King Cake relies on crescent rolls to keep it simple and quick. It has a rich and creamy cinnamon filling that is reminiscent of the inside of a cinnamon roll.
Ingredients
Crescent Roll King Cake and Filling
- 2 (8-ounce) cans crescent rolls
- 4 ounce cream cheese
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze and Decoration
- ½ cup confectioners sugar
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- Green, purple, and gold colored sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bundt cake pan with nonstick baking spray.
- Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles and place the triangles into the bundt pan with the wide edge to the outside of the pan and the points towards the center, slightly overlapping them as you go. Gently press the rolls together at the bottom of the pan and make sure there are no gaps.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, brown sugar, confectioners sugar, butter, cinnamon and vanilla until it is creamy and smooth. Drop the filling by spoonfulls into the prepared dough and then spread with the back of the spoon to even it out.
- Fold the ends of the crescent roll dough over the top of the filling. Now is the time to place the baby in part of the layers of crescent rolls. Pinch the edges of the dough to seal them.
- Bake the king cake at 350 degrees for 23-27 minutes or until it is golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before turning the cake out onto a serving plate to cool completely.
- When the cake has cooled, make the glaze by whisking together the confectioners sugar, milk, and almond extract. If your glaze is too thick, add a bit more milk. If it's too thin, add a bit more confectioners sugar. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and then sprinkle with colored sugar to decorate.
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Angela
Sunday 19th of February 2023
Does the king cake need to be refrigerated
Amy D
Monday 20th of February 2023
Hi Angela, That's a great question. I personally would refrigerate the leftovers because of the cream cheese and butter in the filling. Hope that helps! Amy D.