King Cake…a Quick & Easy Substitute!

February 8
8 Comments

Preparing a Mardi Gras King Cake can be such a fun and tasty holiday tradition!  Cutting into that gooey cinnamon cake to see who finds the baby is a tradition that my family has really enjoyed over the years…but making this traditional dessert can be a bit of an undertaking!  Like any made-from-scratch bread, baking a King Cake requires kneading and rising…all worth the time invested but sometimes a good substitution needs to happen!  Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras, and Chinese New Year all occur within days of one another, and I don’t know about you but one celebration a week is about all I can handle!  But when you have family traditions to uphold, a quick fix is in order!  So today I’m going to share a REALLY easy way to make a mini King Cake…still festive, tasty, AND you can literally make it in minutes!  I’ll also share a simple DIY decoration that even the kiddos could make!  Don’t let the fact that Mardi Gras is right around the corner scare you away from celebrating…

whip up a mini King Cake…or several!

king cake DIY

so now you know the easy, secret…doughnuts!  you can embellish them with icing, sprinkles…and that traditional baby!

king cake semi homemade mini cakes

step 1.

fist you need to hide that baby inside one doughnut!  it might seem that you can’t fit it down inside but you really can.  just make a slit with a sharp knife…

DIY mini king cake

and carefully press the baby inside.  you can cover the opening with icing so don’t worry that he shows…

DIY mini king cake

step. 2

load them up with some doughnut glaze!  i prefer glaze as it will harden slightly but regular icing will do the job!

king cake DIY

step 3.

load them up with sprinkles in traditional Mardi Gras color!

king cake doughnuts

then let the glaze set up…

mini king cake DIY

while they’re drying, it’s time for an easy DIY…

cake topper DIY

you can make an embellishment that’s fit for a king with a crown party hat!  punch out two tiny holes in the side so you can insert a pick, or you could tape it on the inside!

king cake DIY topper

some self-adhesive stickers make it easy to decorate!

king cake DIY decoration

just use the Mardi Gras colors and decorate your crown…

king cake decoration

king cake decoration

now stack up the king cake doughnuts and decorate!  you could add flowers or paper pompoms…

DIY King Cake

a few beads…

king cake DIY

and see who finds the baby for some good luck and prosperity…or just for fun!

celebrate Mardi Gras…

and let them eat “king cake!”

when serving, i suggest breaking the doughnuts apart to find the baby to prevent a choking hazard.

pin for later~

king cake doughnuts

you can see more doughnut fun here!

similar crown party hats can be found at~

Party City

Swoozies

Amazon

Walmart

 

  1. Carolina

    February 8

    Lori, your ideas are so awesome!! Love how you even hide the baby inside the donut..

    • Lori

      February 8

      Thanks Carolina! It’s the only way we’ll have a King Cake this year so I had to figure something quick!

  2. Susan

    February 8

    Such a great and easy idea to decorate donuts ! I just love this!

    • Lori

      February 8

      Oh Thank you Susan! I do love an easy hack!!

  3. What a super clever idea! Best way to not bake and have a great dessert everyone will love! Way to go!

    • Lori

      February 8

      I love easy food ideas that don’t require much or any baking! It does make life a little easier sometimes! xoxo

  4. halfpintpartydesign

    February 21

    This king cake donut hack is genius! This is something anyone can do in just a few minutes. I’m loving all these simple yet fabulous ideas.

    • Lori

      February 21

      You know how I LOVE quick and simple! And if it wasn’t, we wouldn’t have had any sort of King cake this year! 🙂

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