Mini Mardi Gras King Cakes Recipes

EASY MINI KING CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F (182 degrees C). Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray.
• Stir brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon together in a small bowl until smooth.
• Remove crescent roll dough from the can and separate into 4 rectangles. Press the seams together tightly to seal the dough.
• Spread butter mixture evenly over each rectangle, not going all the way to the edges. Start at the bottom of each long edge and roll tightly into a 10-inch log, sealing any open seams. Bring the ends of each roll together to form an oval shape, making sure you press tightly to seal so the filling doesn't ooze out in the air fryer and burn.
• Place one or two at a time in the prepared air fryer basket without overcrowding.
• Air-fry in the preheated air fryer for 5 minutes per batch. Remove to a wire rack and cool.
• Meanwhile, whisk powdered sugar and milk together until smooth. Divide mixture among 3 bowls. Add food coloring to each bowl.
• Drizzle icing over each cooled cake and decorate with sugar or sprinkles. Let icing dry before serving, about 10 minutes.

SUPER EASY MARDI GRAS KING CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
• Open the cans of sweet roll dough and unroll the dough from each can into 3 strands. Working on a clean surface, place 3 dough strands side by side and gather them together to make one large strand. Fold this in half, and roll slightly to make a fat log. Repeat steps with the remaining dough. Place each log on the prepared baking sheet and shape to make a ring, overlapping the ends and pinching them together to make a complete circle. Pat the dough into shape as necessary to make the ring even in size all the way around. Cover loosely with foil.
• Bake in preheated oven until firm to the touch and golden brown, 50 to 60 minutes. Check often for doneness so the ring doesn't overbake. Place on a wire rack and cool completely.
• Place the cake ring on a serving plate. Cut a slit along the inside of the ring and insert a small plastic baby, pushing it far enough into the cake to be hidden from view.
• Divide the frosting evenly between 4 bowls. Stir 1 tablespoon of milk into each bowl to thin the frosting. Use the frosting in one bowl to drizzle over the cooled cake. To the remaining three bowls of frosting, stir yellow food coloring into one and green into another. Stir the red and blue food colorings together with the frosting in a third bowl to make purple frosting. Drizzle the cake with yellow, green, and purple frostings in any desired pattern. Dust the cake with multi-colored sprinkles and decorate with beads, additional plastic babies, curly ribbon, and other festive trinkets.

MINI MARDI GRAS KING CAKES

Steps:

• Proof yeast in warm water until bubbly, about 5 minutes.
• Mix raised yeast with rest of roll dough ingredients, flour your hands, and knead until dough is elastic (will still be sticky! Keep flouring your hands).
• On floured surface, roll dough out into an 8" x 12" rectangle,
• Blend cream cheese, sugar, and almond flavoring. Spread mixture atop dough, all the way to edges. Slice width-wise into 12 one-inch strips.
• Carefully roll up into pinwheels and place in nonstick muffin tins (I like to use paper muffin cups; gold or silver ones are pretty for Mardi Gras) and let rise in warm place until double in volume.
• Bake at 350 until tops are slightly golden.
• Mix glaze well, and spoon over warm muffins. While the glaze is still sticky, mix three small bowls of colored sugar---yellow, green, and purple, using food coloring. Sprinkle over tops.
• Laissez les bons temps rouler! You can start your Lenten fast the next day -- .

MARDI GRAS KING CAKE

Steps:

• FOR THE CAKE:.
• Gently heat the milk to a warm body temperature (about 100 degrees). In a small bowl, whisk the warm milk with the yeast and sugar. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes until bubbly.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the creme fraiche, eggs and vanilla extract. Mix on low to combine. Add the yeast mixture, melted butter and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
• On low speed, add the flour one cup at a time, and mix until the dough comes together. It's okay if it's not completely smooth, there is more kneading to come!
• Remove the dough from the bowl, and place on a large counter or work surface. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time, add desired amount food coloring and knead by hand to distribute evenly. This will take some time, and it's okay if the color is streaky - it's more important that the dough is smooth. Well-fitted disposable gloves are great to prevent staining your hands.
• Place the colored dough balls into three small, greased bowls and cover with plastic wrap. Let them rise for 45 minutes to an hour in a warm spot. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled in size.
• In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon kosher salt.
• Lightly flour the work surface and roll each dough portion out to roughly 18 by 6-inch rectangles. Evenly scatter the brown sugar filling over each rectangle. Roll each piece of dough into a spiraled log, like a cinnamon bun, moistening the end with water to seal.
• Once all three pieces are rolled, joint the ends of all three together with some water and braid the logs together. Move the braid to a parchment lined baking sheet and form the braid into a large ring, joining the ends together by firmly pressing them together with warm water.
• Cover the sheet with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 to 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
• Once the ring has puffed slightly, bake at 375 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes. It should be golden brown on top, and not gooey when poked with a knife. Let cool.
• FOR THE ICING:.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt until smooth. Add the warm water. Divide the icing into three portions and tint with the desired amount of food coloring.
• Ice the cooled cake as desired. To get a stringy effect, use 3 piping bags with very small tips and zig zag the icing over the cake alternating the colors.