Unable to find a king cake to celebrate Mardi Gras this year? With these cream cheese croissants, made using refrigerated crescent rolls, you’ll be able to celebrate the holiday with very little effort involved. And, once you decorate each king cake croissant with some yellow, green, and purple sanding sugar and a small plastic Mardi Gras baby, you’ll have a festive treat everyone in your family will love. Laissez les bons temps rouler.
Not all king cakes are the same. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. I think that we can all agree that the king cake readily available at our local market is absolute shit, right? Dry, overly-bready, and with a sickeningly sweet icing thrown on top. In most cases, a store-bought king cake ends with the taste of disappointment.
And then there are the king cakes which you can order straight from New Orleans. Yes, they are absolutely dreamy and everything a true king cake should be. They are definitely king cake nirvana. But, do we really need to spend crazy amounts of money to enjoy a lil’ ol’ slice of king cake?
Nope, we do not. Thanks to this recipe, all you need to do is buy a roll of refrigerated crescent rolls and a package of cream cheese. Add in a few more simple ingredients, and get ready to enjoy the best homemade king cake you’ve ever tasted. I’ll leave it up to you whether or not to add the seriously creepy naked babies.
Ingredients:
- 4-oz. Cream Cheese, Softened
- 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 (12-oz.) Roll Big & Flaky Refrigerated Crescent Rolls
- 1 Egg
- 2 Tablespoons Cold Water
- 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
- Yellow, Green, & Purple Sanding Sugar
- 8 Small Plastic Mardi Gras Babies (Optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar together on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Add the lemon zest and vanilla; mix for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Open and unroll the crescent rolls. Separate the dough into 8 triangles using the dotted lines provided. Evenly distribute the cream cheese mixture amongst each triangle. Use a knife to spread the cream cheese out onto the middle of each triangle, being careful to keep it away from the edges. Roll up each cream cheese-slathered triangle, starting from the bottom of each triangle and rolling to the point of each triangle. Place each rolled croissant onto a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet, slightly curving the ends in to create a half-moon shape.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg and cold water together. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush each croissant with a thin layer of egg wash.
- Bake the croissants for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Allow the croissants to cool completely on a baking rack.
- When the croissants are cool, whisk the powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream together in a small bowl until smooth. Use a spoon or fork to drizzle the icing on top of each croissant. Immediately decorate the iced croissants with yellow, green, and purple sanding sugar. Place a plastic baby on top of each croissant.
Suggestions:
- I used Big & Flaky Crescent Rolls for this recipe in lieu of Original Crescent Rolls. They are just a tad bit larger than the original, which makes for a much better croissant.
- When spreading the cream cheese on top of each triangle, make sure to keep the filling away from the edges. That way, when you roll the croissants up, the filling will not ooze out as much.
- If you don’t have heavy whipping cream, use water, milk, or lemon juice to make the icing. It will probably take a little bit less than if using heavy whipping cream. Start with 1-tablespoon and work your way up until you get a good icing consistency.
- You can purchase small plastic Mardi Gras babies online or at your local craft store.
- Due to the cream cheese and heavy whipping cream, I suggest storing these croissants in the refrigerator if you are not eating them on the same day which they were made.
Improvements:
- Replace the lemon zest with orange zest.
- Instead of placing a plastic baby on top of each croissant, hide one inside of a croissant before icing it. Just make sure to warn the people who will be eating these croissants that you have done this.
- Want to serve these croissants for a different holiday? Just use different colored sanding sugars. Pink or red for Valentine’s Day, green for St. Patrick’s Day, orange and black for Halloween, or red and green for Christmas.
- Looking for other tasty crescent roll recipes? Check out these Sweet Balsamic Blackberry Crescent Rolls, these Soda-Glazed Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings, or these Cranberry Crescent Rolls with Maple Icing.
Ingredients:
- 4-oz. Cream Cheese, Softened
- 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 (12-oz.) Roll Big & Flaky Refrigerated Crescent Rolls
- 1 Egg
- 2 Tablespoons Cold Water
- 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
- Yellow, Green, & Purple Sanding Sugar
- 8 Small Plastic Mardi Gras Babies (Optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar together on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Add the lemon zest and vanilla; mix for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Open and unroll the crescent rolls. Separate the dough into 8 triangles using the dotted lines provided. Evenly distribute the cream cheese mixture amongst each triangle. Use a knife to spread the cream cheese out onto the middle of each triangle, being careful to keep it away from the edges. Roll up each cream cheese-slathered triangle, starting from the bottom of each triangle and rolling to the point of each triangle. Place each rolled croissant onto a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet, slightly curving the ends in to create a half-moon shape.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg and cold water together. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush each croissant with a thin layer of egg wash.
- Bake the croissants for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Allow the croissants to cool completely on a baking rack.
- When the croissants are cool, whisk the powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream together in a small bowl until smooth. Use a spoon or fork to drizzle the icing on top of each croissant. Immediately decorate the iced croissants with yellow, green, and purple sanding sugar. Place a plastic baby on top of each croissant.
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Soda-Glazed Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings
Raspberry & Peanut Butter Glazed Crescent Rolls
Crescent-Wrapped Cinnamon Apple Slices
When it comes to Mardi Gras food, po’ boy sandwiches, jambalaya, and shrimp étouffée are the norm. However, this unique Mardi Gras recipe round-up is a bit more creative. You’ll find recipes like muffuletta empanadas and king cake croissants, not to mention several Cajun soup, stew, and chowder recipes. If you’re looking for unique and creative Cajun Mardi Gras recipes, we’ve totally got you covered. CLICK HERE for the recipes.
Make sure to check out all of the other great Sunday Funday “National Croissant Day” recipes below. A huge thanks to Culinary Adventures with Camilla for hosting this event.
- Bean Cassoulet by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Cheesy Sausage and Croissant Casserole by Making Miracles
- Chocolate Croissants (Pain au Chocolate) by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Croissants aux Amandes (Almond Croissants) by Food Lust People Love
- Homemade Crescent Rolls by Amy’s Cooking Adventures
- Mardi Gras Cream Cheese King Cake Croissants by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Sourdough Croissants by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Yeasted Croissant by Sneha’s Recipe
