Make an Easy King Cake with Cinnamon Rolls! This is by no means a real King Cake, but it's a fun, festive, tasty substitution that anybody can make with only two ingredients and a few minutes of time.
I've been thinking about making this "King Cake" for a few weeks and finally this weekend, I made it happen.
We don't actually celebrate Mardi Gras, but every year I make sure we get at least one King Cake during Mardi Gras and sometimes I even get a really good one from a bakery in Louisiana.
This year our "real" one came from the Walmart bakery (and it was pretty good considering), but when I went back for a second one, they were already all sold out.
But the kids were still asking for another. While ideally, I'd make a real King Cake from scratch, that's not happening right now. I currently don't have a kitchen to speak of so this cheater, short-cut version was perfect.
Here's a short video showing how easy it is:
And here are the ingredients...
Canned cinnamon rolls (two cans) and colored sugar. My sugars weren't even as vibrant as real King Cake colors, but they worked! I used Wilton Green and Yellow Sprinkles... and a store brand Purple Sugar.
Okay... here are the super easy instructions.
Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Then crack open two cans of cinnamon rolls and layer them into a circle.
Bake according to package directions. It may take a couple of minutes longer than usual since they're layered. You don't want any raw dough in those overlapping areas.
Note: I had every intention of hiding the plastic baby Jesus in the King Cake at this point (after baking), but I totally forgot. If you have a baby, then this is when I recommend you hide it - before icing.
Cover the cinnamon rolls ring with the including icing.
Tip: warm the icing in the microwave for about 10 seconds and it's super easy to spread.
Sprinkle with purple, green and gold (yellow) sugar.
My son has a huge bucket of Mardi Gras beads from a parade a couple of years ago so I made my presentation a little more festive by adding some beads.
Enjoy!! It took about 3 minutes flat for my pan to look like this:
Obviously, my kids and hubby loved the Easy King Cake with Cinnamon Rolls.
Shop here:
I hardly think this qualifies as a "recipe" but I'll include the recipe card below anyway just in case you want to print it out.
PrintRecipe
Easy King Cake with Cinnamon Rolls
- Total Time: 21 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Instructions
Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
Layer the cinnamon rolls on each other in a circle.
Bake according to package directions (maybe a couple of minutes longer). For me it was 400°F for 16-17 minutes.
Microwave the including icing to soften it, then drizzle or spoon it over the ring of cinnamon rolls.
Sprinkle with colored sugars.
Serve and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 16
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Debbie Mayfield
What a great idea! I am from Louisiana and we celebrate Mardi Gras every year. I have always bought our King cakes...never thought about making it myself. Thank you for showing me how easy it can be done.
Teresa
What a festive fun cheater cake this is.Hats off to you for helping us celebrate the occasion.
Tammy
I've never made a king cake before but yours looks so delicious and festive too! I have to make this...such a fun treat to have in the morning with coffee.
Alyce
I've searched for an easy King Cake recipe in the past, but was unsuccessful. I am looking forward to trying your recipe! Thank you so much for this great idea!