Southern Mom Loves: Mardi Gras King Cake With Blackberry Cream Cheese Filling

Mardi Gras King Cake With Blackberry Cream Cheese Filling

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

This post contains affiliate links. Purchasing through these links costs nothing extra and helps me continue to bring you all of the content you love.



Hey guys! Today's post is a delicious recipe for a mouthwatering King Cake. This King Cake is made from scratch and is not only rolled with a cinnamon sugar butter but also stuffed with a filling of creamy Blackberry cream cheese; It's like eating a cinnamon roll and a cheese danish all in one! It takes a little while to make the dough from scratch, but it is absolutely worth every minute. Since Fat Tuesday falls on February 25th this year, you've got plenty of time to make this festive beauty!


Even if you don't celebrate Mardi Gras, you can absolutely make and enjoy this King Cake. I never understood why it was called a "cake" since it is, in essence, a giant pastry. It is absolutely worth making at least once, though.


They can be filled or not filled, your choice. You can use this recipe for either, just omit the filling instructions and roll it up with just the cinnamon sugar mix for a plain King Cake. You can also change the blackberry part to anything you like, like strawberry preserves, cherry pie filling, or even lemon curd. You can also leave them out for just the plain cheese danish filling.

Nudie-booty babies are optional.
I found little plastic babies where I live in Tennessee in the "Baby Shower" party section of Walmart. They're not meant for this but hey, whatever is available will work. You can roll them up in the pastry before baking or cut a tiny slit in the bottom of the baked and cooled cake and slip it in afterward.


There are a lot of traditions when it comes to who gets the baby in their slice but you can always make up your own. Kids absolutely love getting the baby in their King Cake. If you want to know more about Mardi Gras' history and the celebration itself, check out the post I did here about it.


There is a point where you heat up milk to put in your dough. You can use any kind of thermometer for this, even a meat thermometer. Just make sure that it will read as low as 120-130 and don't let it rest on the bottom of the pot.


You'll also need colored sugars to decorate. The traditional colors are purple, green, and gold, and any shade of those colors will do. If you can only find purple, neon green, and yellow, you're good! I found these in the little cake decorating section of the baking aisle at Walmart.


If you're going to throw a party, you can pick up beads and doubloons to decorate your table. You can even pick up some inexpensive masks at the dollar store or on Amazon. You can make my Hurricane drink recipe or pick up a drink mix. If you have kids running around you can make a batch without alcohol for them!


I want to note that I'm making the first "mixing" part in my old stand mixer, but it's not required. You can use a hand-held mixer for that. I'm doing the kneading by hand but if you have a stand mixer that can handle kneading, go ahead and make your life a little easier. :)

Let's make it!

King Cake With Blackberry Cream Cheese Filling
Adapted from this Betty Crocker recipe
Makes: 12 slices

Ingredients

Dough:

  • 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1 package (2-1/4 teaspoons) Rapid Rise yeast
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Cinnamon Filling:

  • 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Blackberry Cream Cheese Filling:

  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt 
  • 5 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
  • 1 beaten egg
  • 3.5 oz. (approx.) seedless blackberry jam (about 1/4 to 1/3 of a small jar)
Icing:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Decoration (optional):

  • Green, purple, and yellow or gold sanding sugars
  • Miniature plastic baby

Directions:

1. Whisk together 2-1/2 cups of the flour and the yeast in a large mixing bowl.


2. Heat the milk, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the milk is between 120°F to 130°F.

3. With a mixer on low, pour the milk mix into the flour mix and beat until incorporated. Add the eggs in one at a time. Continue mixing until the eggs are completely incorporated.


4. (This is where you may need to switch to mixing by hand but continue to use a mixer or beater until you can't anymore.) Mix in the remaining 1 cup flour a little at a time, adding more or less flour as needed to make a soft dough. Add the softened butter, a piece at a time, kneading until each piece of butter is absorbed.


5. If you have a powerful stand mixer, knead for eight minutes on low. The dough should completely clear the sides of the bowl. If you don't, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until elastic and smooth.


6. Form the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl, turning it so the greased surface is on top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.


7. While the dough is chilling, make the cinnamon sugar filling. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Add in the butter cut into small chunks and mix with a fork until it becomes a crumbly mixture.


8. Now let's make the cream cheese filling. In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese with the vanilla, salt, sugar, and lemon juice. Add the beaten egg and beat until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate until needed. 



9. Spoon out the blackberry preserves into a bowl and break them up thoroughly using a fork. You want to be able to pipe this through a large hole.


10. Roll the chilled dough into a roughly 15" x 20" rectangle. Spread the cinnamon filling over the entire thing. Spoon the cheese filling into a ziplock bag and snip off the corner. Pipe this along the long edge, leaving a space at each end to pinch the dough closed. Do the same with the blackberry preserves.


11. Roll the dough up gently and pinch each end closed to keep the filling inside. Bring each end around until your dough is in a large circle and the ends overlap and press the edges together. You can brush them with a bit of water to make sure they stick while baking.


12. Transfer the ring to a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour.



13. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Bake until golden brown, about 20-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet and then place it on a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.

14. While cooling, make your icing. In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth (add additional milk if the mixture is too thick or powdered sugar if too thin).


15. To hide the baby in the cake, make a small slit in the bottom of the cake and put the miniature plastic baby in after the cake has cooled.



16. Spoon the icing over the top of the cake and use the back of the spoon to spread it all over.


17. Immediately sprinkle on the colored sugars before the icing dries, alternating between the three colors.




king cake, mardi gras, fat tuesday, baby, mardi gras cake, cinnamon roll cake, cream cheese, blackberry, danish,
Desserts
American
Yield: 12
Author:

King Cake With Blackberry Cream Cheese Filling

King Cake With Blackberry Cream Cheese Filling

This King Cake is not only rolled with a cinnamon sugar butter but also stuffed with a filling of creamy Blackberry cream cheese; It's like eating a cinnamon roll and a cheese danish all in one!

ingredients:

Dough:
  • 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 package (2-1/4 teaspoons) Rapid Rise yeast
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, cut into 12 pieces
Cinnamon Filling:
  • 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Blackberry Cream Cheese Filling:
  • 8 oz. cream cheese
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 beaten egg
  • 3.5 oz. (approx.) seedless blackberry jam (about 1/4 to 1/3 of a small jar)
Icing:
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Decoration (optional):
  • Green, purple, and yellow or gold sanding sugars
  • Miniature plastic baby

instructions:

How to cook King Cake With Blackberry Cream Cheese Filling

  1. Whisk together 2-1/2 cups of the flour and the yeast in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Heat the milk, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the milk is between 120°F to 130°F.
  3. With a mixer on low, pour the milk mix into the flour mix and beat until incorporated. Add the eggs in one at a time. Continue mixing until the eggs are completely incorporated.
  4. (This is where you may need to switch to mixing by hand but continue to use a mixer or beater until you can't anymore.) Mix in the remaining 1 cup flour a little at a time, adding more or less flour as needed to make a soft dough. Add the softened butter, a piece at a time, kneading until each piece of butter is absorbed.
  5. If you have a powerful stand mixer, knead for eight minutes on low. The dough should completely clear the sides of the bowl. If you don't, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until elastic and smooth.
  6. Form the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl, turning it so the greased surface is on top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  7. While the dough is chilling, make the cinnamon sugar filling. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Add in the butter cut into small chunks and mix with a fork until it becomes a crumbly mixture.
  8. Now let's make the cream cheese filling. In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese with the vanilla, salt, and sugar. Add the beaten egg and beat until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
  9. Spoon out the blackberry preserves into a bowl and break them up thoroughly using a fork. You want to be able to pipe this through a large hole.
  10. Roll the chilled dough into a roughly 15" x 20" rectangle. Spread the cinnamon filling over the entire thing. Spoon the cheese filling into a ziplock bag and snip off the corner. Pipe this along the long edge, leaving a space at each end to pinch the dough closed. Do the same with the blackberry preserves.
  11. Roll the dough up gently and pinch each end closed to keep the filling inside. Bring each end around until your dough is in a large circle and the ends overlap and press the edges together. You can brush them with a bit of water to make sure they stick while baking.
  12. Transfer the ring to a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
  13. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Bake until golden brown, about 20-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet and then place it on a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.
  14. While cooling, make your icing. In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth (add additional milk if the mixture is too thick or powdered sugar if too thin).
  15. To hide the baby in the cake, make a small slit in the bottom of the cake and put the miniature plastic baby in after the cake has cooled.
  16. Spoon the icing over the top of the cake and use the back of the spoon to spread it all over.
  17. Immediately sprinkle on the colored sugars before the icing dries, alternating between the three colors.

NOTES:

This can be filled or not, your choice. You can use this recipe for either, just omit the filling instructions and roll it up with just the cinnamon sugar mix for a plain King Cake. You can also change the blackberry part to anything you like, like strawberry preserves, cherry pie filling, or even lemon curd. You can also leave them out for just the plain cheese danish filling. I want to note that I'm making the first "mixing" part in my old stand mixer, but it's not required. You can use a hand-held mixer for that. I'm doing the kneading by hand but if you have a stand mixer that can handle kneading, go ahead and make your life a little easier. :)
Calories
259.51
Fat (grams)
12.15
Sat. Fat (grams)
7.12
Carbs (grams)
34.38
Fiber (grams)
0.69
Net carbs
33.69
Sugar (grams)
22.93
Protein (grams)
3.83
Sodium (milligrams)
261.48
Cholesterol (grams)
76.05
This nutritional information is automatically pulled from a database and may not be correct. Please use the Nutrition Information on the products/brands that you use.

Did you make this recipe?
Tag @southernmomloves on instagram and hashtag it #southernmomlovesrecipe
Created using The Recipes Generator


Ta-da! You have just made a ridiculously delicious King Cake!



I hope you have a fabulous Fat Tuesday and enjoy this creation!


Like this post? PIN ME:

Do you celebrate Mardi Gras? What is your favorite part? I love to hear your comments!

You Might Also Like

0 comments

Video of the day