SIMPLE BUT DELICIOUS KING CAKE

Prep Time: 1 Hour
Yields: 10–12 Servings

Comment:
Traditional king cakes are made with yeast and take hours to make and bake. This simple and quick recipe delivers great flavor and looks as if it took all day to make.

Ingredients for Filling:
4 ounces cream cheese
½ cup light brown sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ cup raisins, soaked in hot water 15 minutes, drained
½ cup pecan halves, (¼-inch) chopped

Ingredients for Cake:
2 (8-count) cans refrigerated crescent rolls

Ingredients for Icing:
1½ cups powdered sugar
2–3 tbsps milk
1 tsp vanilla
purple, green and gold sugar crystals
purple, green and gold food coloring

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 15-inch pizza pan with cooking spray and set aside. In the bowl of a food processor with metal blade, place cream cheese, light brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Pulse 1–2 minutes, blending ingredients well. Add pecans and pulse 30 seconds. Set the filling aside. Unroll crescent rolls into triangles. Position triangles on prepared pizza pan, next to each other with the points towards the middle. The long sides must overlap about ¼-inch forming a large round circle. Where the pieces overlap, press the seams together only in the center of each seam, leaving both points and outer ends of the seams unsealed so that you can fold them over the filling. Spread the filling in the center of the sealed seam of each triangle to create a ring of filling. Fold the outer side of each triangle over the filling towards the center to cover. Pull the point end of the triangle toward the outer rim of the pan to fully enclose the filling, tucking the points under to create a ring. Lightly press the seams. Bake 20–25 minutes or until golden brown then remove to cool completely. While cake is cooling, continue with icing. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. The mixture should be fairly thick but still able to run down cake when drizzled or poured. Spoon plain icing over cooled cake and top with colored sugar, or you may wish to place icing in three cups adding purple, green and gold food coloring then apply to cake. Colored sugar may be sprinkled over colored icing when fairly dried.