Easy King Cake

It's that time of year when I start craving King Cake. I am not sure why as I am not from the south, have only spent a few hours in NOLA, I haven't 'earned beads', and I've never celebrated Mardi Gras. The only King Cake I've had was a few pieces that a friend bought from our local Midwest grocery store bakery. I have NO idea if that even tasted like the real thing, but I can't get it out of my brain. Sure, I could go to that grocery store and see if they made any this year...but what is the fun in that? I did a little searching online for an easy recipe and came across a few variations, but nothing was exactly what I wanted. I decided to put my craving to rest and create my own.

Easy King Cake (Raspberry Cream Cheese version)

2 rolls of refrigerated dough (I used biscuits)
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
baby, bean, or pecan
icing glaze
green, purple, & yellow sprinkle sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay out your biscuits in a rectangle (20 so it was 1 row of 6 and 2 rows of 7) and cover with plastic wrap and roll into a sheet. I put down a cookie liner and used a rolling pin to roll. Microwave the cream cheese for 10 seconds and spread on the dough. Microwave the raspberry preserves for 20 seconds and spread on top of the cream cheese. Carefully roll the dough long ways. Form a circle and pinch the ends together. No babies in this house, so I tucked a pecan in the roll. The filling started to break through when biscuits tried to pull apart, but I pinched them together. Bake for 17-23 minutes or until brown on the edges. I did mine for 17 mins and it was slightly doughy on the inside.

You can use a can of pre-made icing if you want. I used the corn syrup icing recipe here. I always use Almond Extract! I usually have some in my fridge since the recipe is more than enough for a batch of cookies.

Move the cake to a plate when it comes out of the oven, spread on icing, then sprinkle with the green, purple, & yellow sprinkles.

I think it turned out well, although I wish my purple sprinkles were brighter. How did it taste? YUMMY! Although, different from that King Cake I had last year. What did I find on the first piece? The pecan! I guess that means I have to make another one. I might try experimenting with crescent or cinnamon roll dough next time.

I did have darker purple sprinkles afterall, which I used on another one I made.

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