Mardi Gras Bread Recipes

KING CAKE MONKEY BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a tube pan with cooking spray.
• Separate cinnamon rolls, saving icing to use later. Cut each cinnamon roll into four pieces. Place cinnamon roll pieces in tube pan.
• Beat together cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk. Mix until combined. Pour cream cheese mixture over cinnamon rolls.
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. After baking, let pan cool 10 minutes.
• Turn baked monkey bread out on plate and ice with cinnamon roll icing. Decorate with purple, yellow, and green sanding sugar.

MARDI GRAS KING CAKE

Steps:

• Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
• To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup raisins. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.
• Roll dough halves out into large rectangles (approximately 10x16 inches or so). Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of each roll together to form 2 oval shaped rings. Place each ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Push the doll into the bottom of the cake. Frost while warm with the confectioners' sugar blended with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.

MARDI GRAS BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Beat oil, sugar, and eggs well.
• 2. Add in carrots and pineapple; mix well.
• 3. Sift dry ingredients.
• 4. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
• 5. Add vanilla and nuts.
• 6. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans. Divide batter evenly between the pans.
• 7. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean.

MARDI GRAS GORILLA BREAD

Steps:

• 1. PLEASE READ THROUGH THE ENTIRE RECIPE BEFORE YOU BEGIN:
• 2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• 3. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• 4. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
• 5. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside.
• 6. Cut each cream cheese block into 20 equal cubes.
• 7. Press the biscuits out with your fingers, cut in halves; sprinkle each with 1/3 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of half of the biscuits, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Roll into a ball. Place half a strawberry in the center of the other half of the biscuits, wrapping and sealing the dough around the strawberries. Roll into a ball.
• 8. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Pour 1/3 of melted butter mixture over the nuts. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. You can mix the cream cheese balls with the strawberry balls or have one layer of the cream cheese balls and then the other layer with the strawberry balls. It's your call.
• 9. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour 1/3 of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/3 of nuts.
• 10. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 of nuts.
• 11. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.
• 12. Place a plate on top and invert. Decorate the top with colored sugars (green, gold, purple), in alternating sections, about 2 inches each.
• 13. Don't forget to hide the plastic baby charm inside one of the dough balls, but warn everyone to look for it!