My Take on King Cake

Hello again! I am so sorry I missed you all last week. Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling well towards the beginning of the week. I got my rest and I am feeling much better and so glad to share my weekend baking with you. It’s probably no secret by now that New Orleans is on my bucket list. Someday, I’ll go there and document the whole trip in food and coffee for you guys, but for now, all I have to share are the recipes I try at home.

With the coming of spring, my Pinterest feed has been flooded with Mardi Gras! One of the major things I’ve noticed is something called “King Cake.” I didn’t know exactly what it was, but it looked so colorful and it had the word “cake” in it so it had to be good! Naturally, I had to look up the recipe.

For starters, the name “King Cake” has a traditional background to it. I won’t take the time to go into the history here, but definitely feel free to look it up- it’s a pretty neat story. It came from a French tradition, as did many things in New Orleans, and there is traditionally a small toy baby hidden within the cake. Whoever finds the baby in their slice gets to…………I’m honestly still not clear on what they have to do. When I looked up the recipe for traditional king cake, the recipe results I got were about as varied as the plastic baby tradition. You can omit the plastic baby like I did, or you can read some of the traditions and pick which one you want to go with. I personally like the one where the person who finds the baby has to bring the next cake. Anything to keep the cake coming!

Since I couldn’t find a concrete traditional recipe, I decided I’d go on my own a bit. From what I read, King Cake is cinnamon and vanilla flavored, but many include cream cheese and/or fruit filling. I decided to keep it simple with vanilla cream cheese and cinnamon for my flavors.

Also, I was a bit crunched for time when I made it, and even when I’m not, I don’t always feel like messing up the kitchen and waiting on homemade dough so I went ahead and used refrigerated pizza dough.

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You can definitely just use your counter top for this step but I did it on a cookie sheet to reduce the mess. I also want to let you know that you’re going to be repeating this process twice. One package of pizza dough makes one small King Cake, so if you’re making it for an event, use 2 pizza crusts and combine them in a large circle like I’m doing here.

After you’ve pressed the dough out so it’s thin but not so thin it won’t hold the filling, mix your vanilla cream cheese filling. It’s a really simple combination of softened cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and of course, vanilla. Forgot to soften the cream cheese? No worries- just microwave it for about 30 or so seconds.

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I was totally winging this part so I decided to throw in brown sugar. It adds a caramel flavor that compliments most desserts so I figured I couldn’t go wrong. Mix your brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and now you’re ready to get the cake assembled.

Spread half the cream cheese mixture on your rolled out crust and then top it with half the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Now, you’re ready to roll it up. Take it easy and roll it loosely so the cream cheese doesn’t go running out. After its rolled, use both hands to transfer it to a round pizza pan or a large cookie sheet that has been well greased. Arrange it into a half moon shape and repeat the process with the other pizza crust and remaining fillings.

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Before baking it to the package directions, brush it with butter and sprinkle it with a cinnamon sugar mix.

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Once it’s out, allow it to cool at least most of the way before topping it. Many recipes use a glaze but I have never tasted any glaze that could compare to cream cheese frosting- even out of the can. Hint: this means I’m using cream cheese frosting out of the can.

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To make it easier to cover the cake, I microwaved the frosting in a bowl for 30 seconds. This softened it so it wasn’t runny, but it was easier to spread on the cake.

While the cream cheese frosting is still moist, cover it with gold, purple, and green sprinkles. Or, realize those are the only colors you don’t have in the cabinet and improvise with whatever you have because the cake is going to taste awesome no matter what.

If you’ve ever made King Cake that you absolutely love, I would be delighted to hear your personal recipe. Also, “baby” traditions would be welcome too! There are so many delicious ways of making it and I would love to keep trying new recipes because my crowd sure enjoyed this!

King Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 pkgs. refrigerated pizza dough
• 2 pkgs. (16oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3c. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• Melted butter for top of cake (roughly 2T.)
• Shaker of cinnamon and sugar for top of cake
• 1 can cream cheese frosting
• purple, green, and gold colored sugar for decorating

NOTE: This recipe makes a big cake that serves about 15-20 people. If you want a smaller cake, feel free to use only one package of refrigerated pizza dough and cut the recipe in half. Also, I left out the traditional “baby,” but you are welcome to add one into your cake- just make sure your guests know so they don’t bite into it!

Preheat oven to 425 (or whatever temperature your pizza crust calls for)

In a medium mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until the mixture is completely smooth.

In a small bowl, use a fork to mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

On your counter top or a cookie sheet, roll out the pizza dough until it’s thin, but definitely no holes so it will hold the cream cheese mixture.

Spread half the cream cheese mixture evenly on the rolled out dough and sprinkle half the brown sugar cinnamon mix on top. Roll it up gently and loosely so the cream cheese mixture doesn’t gush out and place it on a large, well greased cookie sheet or pizza pan, arranging it in a half moon shape. Repeat with the other package of dough and the remainder of the mixes and join the two pieces together to form a big circle. Pinch the dough together gently where the pieces join.

Brush the top of the cake with melted butter and sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar. Bake until it is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

After the cake has cooled, microwave the frosting in a microwave safe bowl for about 30 seconds- just enough to make the frosting spreadable. Cover the cake with the frosting and apply the colored sugar while the frosting is still soft. Refrigerate the cake until you’re ready to serve!