Mardi Gras Cinnamon Roll King Cake (Bread Machine)

Mardi Gras Cinnamon Roll King Cake is an adaptation of the traditional King Cake. Generally, a dough-filled ring forms the King Cake.

This time, I thought that it would be fun to cut the filled dough into cinnamon rolls and use them to form the ring.

Guess what? It worked like a charm! Also, I should mention that I used my bread machine to do most of the work!

Jump to:

• About the King Cake
• What You’ll Need For Cinnamon Rolls
• Here’s How I Made the Cinnamon Rolls
• Here’s How I Made the Icing
• Here’s How I Finished the Mardi Gras Cinnamon Roll King Cake
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Other King Cake Recipes
• Recipe

About the King Cake

The King Cake is as much a symbol of Mardi Gras as are the festivities that dominate the Carnival season. The King Cake tradition was brought to the area in the early 1700’s by Basque settlers to celebrate the Epiphany on January 6. Over time, the Epiphany signaled the start of the Carnival season, ending on Fat Tuesday, a.k.a. Mardi Gras.

The traditional Mardi Gras King Cake is a ring of cinnamon roll dough that is topped with icing. It is usually finished off with the Mardi Gras colors of green, yellow, and purple.

King Cakes generally have a small figurine called a fève hidden inside. In New Orleans, the fève is a tiny plastic baby.

Originally the plastic baby symbolized the baby Jesus. Today, it symbolizes luck and prosperity to whoever finds the baby. That person has the honor of providing next year’s King Cake or throwing the next Mardi Gras party.

What You’ll Need For Cinnamon Rolls

The cinnamon rolls have two basic parts – the dough and the filling.

• The Liquids: The liquids consisted of milk, eggs, and unsalted butter.

• The Solids: I used all-purpose flour for making the cinnamon rolls, enhanced with Kosher salt and granulated sugar.

• The Yeast: I used instant or bread machine yeast since I used my bread machine.

For the filling, I used unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and ground cinnamon.

Here’s How I Made the Cinnamon Rolls

1. I started by adding the dough ingredients to the pan of my bread machine, ending with the yeast. Then, I selected the dough cycle and walked away.

2. I removed the dough to a floured surface when the dough cycle finished. Then, I cut the dough in half. Each half weighed approximately 17 ¾ ounces.

I wrapped half of the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerated it for a later use. I rolled the other half into a 10 x 15-inch rectangle.

3. Then, I brushed the dough with some melted butter, leaving about an inch border on one of the long sides. Next, I sprinkled on the brown sugar, followed by the cinnamon.

4. Starting on the long side without the border, I rolled the dough tightly towards the other side. Then, I pinched the edges to seal the roll.

5. If I were making the usual type of King Cake, I would have formed the cinnamon-filled rolled dough into a circle. However, I decided to cut the roll into 12 individual cinnamon rolls. Each cinnamon roll was approximately one ¼-inch thick.

I arranged the cinnamon rolls around the edges of a 10-inch cake pan that I had sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper.

Then, I placed a round 4-inch metal pastry cutter in the center of the pan. The reason for doing this was to ensure that the cinnamon rolls had the proper shape when they had risen.

6. I covered the pan with plastic wrap and placed it in my electric oven which I had heated for exactly 1 minute and 45 seconds.

This is a trick that I learned from Julia Child. It produces the perfect environment for the dough to rise.

After an hour, the cinnamon rolls had doubled in size.

7. I baked the cinnamon rolls in a preheated 350°F oven for about 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, they were nicely browned and perfectly cooked.

Here’s How I Made the Icing

You can’t have a King Cake without delicious icing decorated in Mardi Gras colors.

While the cinnamon rolls were baking, I made the icing using cream cheese, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, and confectioners’ sugar. I also set aside green, yellow, and purple sprinkles to use in finishing the King Cake.

First, I beat the cream cheese and butter together until it was smooth. Then, I added the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and beat everything together until the icing was smooth and creamy.

Here’s How I Finished the Mardi Gras Cinnamon Roll King Cake

After I removed the cinnamon rolls from the oven, I let them cool for about 5 minutes. Then, I inverted them onto a wire rack and removed the parchment paper from the bottom. I also removed the metal pastry cutter.

Next, I inverted them again onto another wire rack and inserted the plastic baby into one of the gaps.

I set the wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet that I had lined with aluminum foil. While the cinnamon rolls were still warm, I spooned on the icing.

I finished the Mardi Gras Cinnamon Roll King Cake with a sprinkling of green, yellow, and purple sprinkles.

The Mardi Gras Cinnamon Roll King Cake was amazing. It was like a giant cinnamon roll with cream cheese icing, and lots of it. Laizzez les Bon Temps Rouler! Yum!

Frequently Asked Questions

Other King Cake Recipes

If you’re a fan of King Cake, you should try one of these other amazing recipes:

• New Orleans King Cake

• Mini King Cakes

• Mardi Gras King Cake (Bread Machine)

• Christmas King Cake

I first posted the Mardi Gras Cinnamon Roll King Cake on February 2, 2019. Since we’re now in the middle of the Carnival season, I thought that it was time to update the post.

This update contains enhanced photographs and text. However, the recipe is unchanged.

Recipe