easy king cake recipe crescent rolls

Mini king cakes are an individual version of a Mardi Gras favorite, the king cake. King Cake (galette des rois in French) is a dessert found at most Mardi Gras parties. Named in honor of the Three Kings, it is made with a brioche or Danish dough which is twined into a ring shape and decorated with the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold. Sometimes it is made with a filling of cream cheese, fruits, or nuts and spices.

You will need 3 mixing bowls, a saucepan, a strainer, a muffin tin, a mixer, cooking spoons, measuring spoons, foil, cooking oil spray.

Note: if blueberry (or cherry) pie filling is available, you can skip this step.

Drain the blueberries, reserving the juice. Add ¼ cup sugar and cornstarch to a saucepan and mix well.

Pour in ¼ cup of the reserved juice. Stirring well, bring to a boil over medium high heat. After 1 minute, turn off the heat but continue stirring. The sauce should be pourable, but sticky. Add the fruit to the sauce.

In a bowl, mix ½ cup of sugar and cinnamon. A small whisk works very well for this.

Using the mixer, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, and almond extract. It should take about 2 minutes for the mixture to be fluffy.

Sprinkle the work surface with flour. Open the crescent rolls and separate into 8 rectangles, 4 per can. Pinch the seams together with your fingers.

Sprinkle and spread 1 tbsp of cinnamon sugar on each rectangle.

Use about 4 tsp of cream cheese filling to make a line along the long edge of each rectangle. Use 1 or 2 tablespoons of fruit filling to make a parallel line of berries.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the muffin tin.

Overlap the long ends of each rectangle to make a log stuffed with filling. Pinch the dough together. Gently roll up the log and place in a muffin cup.

Cover the muffin pan with foil and place on center rack of oven. Bake for 12 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake another 10 to 15 minutes. Watch for the tops to turn brown, but not too brown.

In a bowl, mix almond extract, powdered sugar, and milk. The glaze should be pourable. If it is too thick, add 1 to 3 extra teaspoons of water.

Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove to a platter. Spread the tops with glaze and sprinkle with purple, gold, and green sugar sprinkles.

If desired, add a Mardi Gras baby in the bottom of one of the mini king cakes.

Mini king cakes are a version of a Mardi Gras favorite dessert. Uses crescent rolls and filled with cinnamon sugar, fruit, and cream cheese. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Nutrition for mini king cakes

One serving, will have approximately 512 calories. These nutrition facts are an estimation.

Resource links

• https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019114-galette-des-rois
  • Galette des Rois recipe from the New York Times
• http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/history.html
  • Mardi Gras history from Mardi Gras New Orleans
• https://www.eater.com/2017/1/11/14168802/king-cake-history
  • King Cake Tradition from Eater

Let’s talk story

Mardi Gras season lasts from January 6, Epiphany, until Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. These dates change every year, based on the date of Easter. It’s a moveable feast!

The king cake often has a toy baby hidden inside it, in honor of the baby Jesus. The person who gets the piece with the baby should give the next party or bring the next King Cake.

Mardi Gras party menu

Hurricane cocktails, Abita and Dixie beer, jambalaya, red beans and rice, muffulettas, remoulade with baguettes, ham, and cheese, King cake. Download a free printable for your Mardi Gras table! 

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