Thank You for Volunteering to Help in Our Celebration of Mardi Gras by Making a King Cake!

King Cake

Thank you for volunteering to help in our celebration of Mardi Gras by making a King Cake!

The King Cake is one of the many traditions during Mardi Gras. A dried bean or pea was hidden inside the cake and the finder became king or queen for the day. The royal colors of purple, green and gold on the cake honor the three kings who visited the Christ child on Epiphany. Today, a little baby doll is hidden in the cake as the prize, and with it, comes the obligation to host the next Mardi Gras party and provide the next King Cake.

King Cakes are like cinnamon rolls but twisted into a large oval. The tops are covered with white icing and then sprinkled with sugar dyed purple, green and gold (yellow).

The following “recipe” is a simplified version of the King Cake. Feel free to use another recipe if you have one! 

King Cake Recipe Ingredients

1 can of cinnamon rolls, with icing ¾ cup of sugar, separated into 3 parts of ¼ each food coloring

Separate the cinnamon rolls and roll them out by hand so that they look like a hot dog. Shape the roll into an oval, pinch the ends together, and place on a cookie sheet. Cook as directed.

While it is cooking, use food coloring to dye the sugar. Make one part purple using blue and red, one part green, and one part gold using yellow. Put the sugar in a jar, drop a drop or two of food coloring in, put the lid on the jar and shake until the sugar is dyed.

When the cake is done cooking, make a small incision and place the baby Jesus inside the cake. Ice the top with the white icing. Sprinkle the different colors of sugars alternating as you go around the oval. The kids love celebrating Mardi Gras. We couldn’t do it without your help. Merci beaucoup!