A Simple Lightened Up Louisiana King Cake Recipe-Enjoy Mardi Gras in Your Own Home

By Holly Clegg –

In Louisiana we can hardly wait until the king cakes hit the bakery shelves. I limit myself to one a week (yes, really) and I also send them all over the country as gifts. I decided to create an easy recipe version that you could make and enjoy wherever you live. This recipe has become so popular I have had people tell me they prefer my recipe over the bakery ones. With no yeast and beginning with crescent rolls, you can whip up this quick and easy king cake with pantry friendly ingredients. Have a taste of Mardi Gras wherever you live!

What is a King Cake? This sweet cinnamon bread like dough filled with a decadent cream cheese cinnamon filling may be found only during Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras, known as the carnival season, extends from January 6, the feast of the Epiphany, until it culminates on Mardi Gras Day, Fat Tuesday, March 8. This “at home version” includes all the frills and flavor and no fuss made with reduced fat crescent rolls shaped into a big circle, cooked and iced with the traditional colors of purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power. A plastic baby, representing the Christ child, is hidden inside. Whoever gets the baby, according to tradition, has to provide the next king cake.

King Cake with Cream Cheese Cinnamon Filling inmy Gulf Coast Favorites Cookbook

Now, you can make a quick King Cake recipe in your own home any time, without worrying about complicated yeast dough.

Makes 16 servings

2 (8-ounce) cans reduced-fat crescent rolls
4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Mardi Gras Icing (recipe to the right)

1. Preheat oven350°F. Coat 10-inch round pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Separate crescent rolls at perforations, into 16 slices. Place slices around prepared pan with points in the center. About halfway down from points, press seams together.

3. In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, confectioners sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Spread on dough in the center where seams have been pressed together.

4. In another small bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over cream cheese. Fold dough points over filling, then fold bottom of triangle over points forming circular roll like king cake.

5. Bake about 20–25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and drizzle with colored Mardi Gras Icing.

Mardi Gras Icing

1 cup confectioners sugar
1–2 tablespoons skim milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Yellow, green, red, and blue food coloring

1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients, except food color. Divide mixture into three bowls.

2. In first bowl, add a few drops of yellow food coloring. In second bowl, add a few drops of green food coloring. In third bowl, add equal amounts of drops of red and blue food coloring (to create purple).

3. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Diabetic Exchanges1 1/2 carbohydrate | 1 1/2 fat

Holly Clegg, author of the best selling trim&TERRIFIC® cookbook series, includes the newly released women’s lifestyle cookbook, Too Hot in the Kitchen: Secrets to Sizzle at Any Age, in addition to the specialized trim&TERRIFIC® Diabetic Cooking and Eating Well Through Cancer. With 1 million copies sold, Holly has promoted her healthy lifestyle recipes on national shows including Fox & Friends, NBC Weekend Today, and The 700 Club. Recently, she has partnered with Walmart to help them develop healthful and affordable meal solutions with cooking videos on www.walmart.com/greatvalue She understands the demands of the busy person and with her user friendly, pantry friendly, and time friendly cookbooks, she has garnered a national reputation as the healthy “Queen of Quick!” For more information, visit www.hollyclegg.com or http://thehealthycookingblog.com