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Easy-Peasy King (Bundt) Cake

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MARDI GRAS MURDER, the fourth book in the Cajun Country Mystery series by Ellen Byron, contains an intriguing look at small town Mardi Gras celebrations while providing a humorous cozy mystery read! While I’ve attended the wild festivities of Mardi Gras in New Orleans (in my much younger days) Ms. Bryon paints a delightful and family-oriented picture of how the bayou celebrates the Carnival. Protagonist, Maggie Crozat, is roped into judging the town’s Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen Contest, a contest she has always despised. Making matters worse, the head judge is pretentious and wants his favorite candidate to win the crown. When the judge is murdered practically in front of her, Maggie feels pressure to get involved and help solve the case. Except her boyfriend, Detective Bo Durand, is investigating and doesn’t want her involved. There is new tension between the couple and I wanted to turn the pages faster so I could find how it turns out. The pace of the mystery is lively and pulled me deeper into the story with each passing chapter.

As Maggie digs into the judge’s life, she becomes more aware of his involvement in the area’s historical society. I was fascinated by the author’s inclusion of the history of the area, especially the Orphan Train. This train brought numerous orphans into Louisiana in the early 1900’s for families to raise when no one else would take them. Even though some history is included, the writing is vivid and descriptive, providing substance to the story instead of dragging it away from the plot. Adding to the sense of festivities is Maggie’s dad’s involvement in the town’s annual gumbo competition. His attachment to and reverence of his special gumbo pot and the lengths he goes to creating Louisiana’s official state cuisine adds lightheartedness and humor. I adore Maggie’s family. They are close-knit yet at times there are some arguments and irritation which makes them believable because of the author’s great character development.

Maggie and her family own and operate the Crozat Plantation Bed & Breakfast. Maggie’s mother, Ninette is the cook for both family and guests, serving up mouthwatering dishes and desserts every day. One of the traditional desserts served during Mari Gras is King Cake. Maggie’s Grandmere came up with a recipe for Easy-Peasy King (Bundt) Cake instead of following Ninette’s labor intensive traditional recipe. While I’m not opposed to spending time in the kitchen, sometimes it’s wonderful having a convenient and easy recipe that looks and tastes like it was made 100% from scratch… and this recipe fits the bill perfectly. Canned cinnamon rolls layered into a bundt pan and then slathered with a brown sugar and cinnamon mixture before baking created a lovely cake, especially after the doctored icing was drizzled on. A few sprinkles of the traditional purple (for justice), gold (for power), and green (for faith) sugar completed the look before my guests were wowed by both the appearance and taste. I won’t be relegating Easy-Peasy King (Bundt) Cake to Mardi Gras only… it will definitely become a fixture anytime of the year I serve brunch!  

  

Canned cinnamon rolls layered into a bundt pan and then slathered with a brown sugar & cinnamon mixture before baking creates Easy-Peasy King (Bundt) Cake, a Mardi Gras tradition!

 

Amazon Synopsis

Southern charm meets the dark mystery of the bayou as a hundred-year flood, a malicious murder, and a most unusual Mardi Gras converge at the Crozat Plantation B&B.

It’s Mardi Gras season on the bayou, which means parades, pageantry, and gumbo galore. But when a flood upends life in the tiny town of Pelican, Louisiana―and deposits a body of a stranger behind the Crozat Plantation B&B―the celebration takes a decidedly dark turn. The citizens of Pelican are ready to Laissez les bon temps rouler―but there’s beaucoup bad blood on hand this Mardi Gras. 

Maggie Crozat is determined to give the stranger a name and find out why he was murdered. The post-flood recovery has delayed the opening of a controversial exhibit about the little-known Louisiana Orphan Train. And when a judge for the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen pageant is shot, Maggie’s convinced the murder is connected to the body on the bayou. Does someone covet the pageant queen crown enough to kill for it? Could the deaths be related to the Orphan Train, which delivered its last charges to Louisiana in 1929? The leads are thin on this Fat Tuesday―and until the killer is unmasked, no one in Pelican is safe. 

 

 

 

 

A special thanks to Ellen Byron for providing a winner with a hardcover copy of MARDI GRAS MURDER. Contest ends Sunday, October 14, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents only. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)  

 

 

 

 

Canned cinnamon rolls layered into a bundt pan and then slathered with a brown sugar & cinnamon mixture before baking creates Easy-Peasy King (Bundt) Cake, a Mardi Gras tradition!

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Easy-Peasy King (Bundt) Cake

The Crozats generally leave the baking to Ninette or order delicious treats from Fais Dough Dough. But if Maggie's called upon to make a King Cake, she follows Gran's advice and takes a tasty shortcut, using cinnamon roll dough. Gran's super-easy King Cake recipe will have all your friends thinking you made one from scratch. Tradition dictates whoever gets the baby in their slice of King Cake has to provide the cake for the following year's Mardi Gras celebration.

Ingredients
The Cake
  • 2 17.5 ounce cans jumbo cinnamon rolls (reserve icing packets)
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
The Frosting
  • 3 ounces whipped cream cheese
  • Both frosting packets from cinnamon roll cans
  • A little milk to thin the frosting
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • Purple-, green-, and yellow-colored sugar
  • 1 tiny plastic baby
Instructions
The Cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F).

  2. Mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pinch of salt.

  3. Layer the cinnamon rolls, one by one, in the bottom of a Bundt pan so they overlap. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the top, pressing it into the uncooked buns gently with the back of a spoon or spatula.

  4. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, until cinnamon rolls are done. Let cool. When the cake is completely cooled, poke the plastic baby inside it, then flip the cake over onto a plate or cake plate.

The Frosting:

  1. Blend the cream cheese, icing packets, vanilla and milk together. Frost the cake.

  2. Once the cake is frosted, sprinkle it with alternating rows of purple-, green-, and yellow-colored sugar.

  3. Serves 8 - 16, depending on how big you cut the slices.

  4. Alert guests to the baby so it doesn't become a choking hazard!

Notes

If you're interested in an authentic King Cake, bakeries around Louisiana will ship them during the weeks prior to Mardi Gras. 

 

Canned cinnamon rolls layered into a bundt pan and then slathered with a brown sugar & cinnamon mixture before baking creates Easy-Peasy King (Bundt) Cake, a Mardi Gras tradition!

 

 

 

 

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Canned cinnamon rolls layered into a bundt pan and then slathered with a brown sugar & cinnamon mixture before baking creates Easy-Peasy King (Bundt) Cake, a Mardi Gras tradition!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

 

I was provided an advance copy with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

Canned cinnamon rolls layered into a bundt pan and then slathered with a brown sugar & cinnamon mixture before baking creates Easy-Peasy King (Bundt) Cake, a Mardi Gras tradition!

 

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64 thoughts on “Easy-Peasy King (Bundt) Cake”

    • Oops, never been to Mardi Gras but have eaten king cake —I think I still have the king cake baby somewhere 🙂

  5. I have been to a Mardi Gras themed party, but I’ve never been to New Orleans. In fact, I’ve been to several Mardi Gras themed parties, both here and in Europe. When we were in Germany the start of the Fasching season was Nov 11 at 11:11 am. The end of fasching is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday – our Mardi Gras.

    I’ve eaten King cake; my memory says I wasn’t fond of it. Perhaps I’ll try this recipe this year and see how I like it.

  9. We went to 2 weddings in New Orleans this year (but neither was during Mardi Gras!) My godchild even had king cake for her wedding cake there in May (I love king cake!)

  10. I’ve been to NOLA, but never around Mardi Gras. I’ve had friends go and bring me back lots of beads!

  11. Never been to Mardi Gras and never been to a themed party, but have always wanted to visit New Orleans….

  12. We eat king cake every year at Mardi Gras. I usually buy one (or more), but I think I’lltry this easy peasy recipe next year.
    And, yes, I’ve attended Mardi Gras in NOLA one time. Fun once, but wouldn’t do it again. I much prefer the smaller Mardi Gras celebrations, like the one in Pensacola, FL.

  13. I’ve never been to NOLA or to a Mardi Gras party, but I’d sure like to go down there and celebrate. That cake is easy enough to make that I think I’ll try it this year.

  14. I have never been to New Orleans during Mardi Gras, but on my visit to this wonderful city over the summer, I stocked up on Mardi Gras items. This coming year my friends and I will host our on Mardi Gras celebration in Kentucky

  15. Many years ago I lived near Houston and would go to Galveston Island for Mardi Gras. That cake looks wonderful!

  16. I never been to one! I would love to go, I have the beads everyone wear.
    Sounds very good thanks
    Penney

  17. I would love to have a Mardi Gras themed party here in Upstate New York. We can get King Cakes here and have had them to celebrate but have not had the full blown event. Yet.

  18. I have never been to the actual Mardi Gras celebration but we we’re in NOLA a few times on business and there were mini versions of Mardi Gras celebrations at the conferences/hotels/venues. There were inflatable riding vehicles, animals, music and people tossing beads and all the NO foods served for the convention in a controlled party that our young chidren could actually attend.. It was wonderful.

  19. I attended Mardi Gras celebrations in Biloxi Mississippi when I lived there in the late 60s. And have also been to a number of Mardi Gras parties (including ones at the seminary I attended!).

  22. I have not been to Mardi Gras, but, I have been to New Orleans and seen the results of Mardi Grad. Looks like fun!

  24. Yes indeed! I’ve been to a Mardi Gras parade. We lived in Baton Rouge so we went to New Orleans frequently because there’s so much to do there! Love the French Quarter with all of its shops and restaurants.

  25. We went to the Mardi Gras in Louisiana one time. It was pretty cold the few days we went. We mostly watched the parades. Thank you for the chance to win a hardcover copy of Mardi Gras Murder.

  27. My girlfriend’s daughters 18th birthday party was Mardi Gras themed. I remember wearing a mask while she danced around on the dance floor with her friends. ❤️?

  28. I’ve had the pleasure of attending Mardi Gras. In fact, it was the Mardi Gras following Hurricane Katrina. I happened to be in town for work. What a resilient city. Years later I went to Mardi Gras World to see how they built those amazing floats.

  29. I’ve always wanted to go to Mardi Gras and never got the chance but I’m definitely gonna try that bundt cake!

  32. I’ve never been to the real Mardi Gras but a little town next to where I grew up would have a festival around July 4th they called Mardi Gras. It kicked off with a big parade that had floats and bands but nothing like I’ve seen of the one in New Orleans. There were rides and food and the last day there were fireworks. It was fun but I do have the real Mardi Gras on my bucket list.

  37. Obviously I need to know more about Mardi Gras. Justice, power, and faith, eh? Interesting. This cake sounds yummy and adaptable to many a quick-baking instance. Thanks for sharing, Kim.

    🙂

  38. “Have you attended Mardi Gras in Louisiana or a Mardi Gras themed party?” No, alas, to both of those! I’m afraid I’d rather be a stick-in-the-mud….

  43. No I have never been to Mardy Gras, (but I have it on my list of things to do.), also I have never been to Mardy Grad themed party. Your cake sounds delicious.
    Thank you for a chance to win.

  44. I’ve dreamed of visiting Mardi Gras for over 50 years, guess I’ll never make it, but the cake looks delish!

  45. In the 50’s we wore clown costumes that my mother made. I was so happy when I finally got a cowgirl outfit to wear! Been to Mardi Gras as an adult – it’s not what it used to be.

  47. I have not attended a Mardi Gras party in Louisiana, but having once lived for years very close to the state there were often parties with a Mardi Gras theme that I attended. I have not gone in costume though. It was more of a theme to the party rather than actual participation in it.

    Thank you for the chance to win a copy of the marvelous book “MARDI GRAS MURDER”. Love the cover and can’t wait for the opportunity to read the book.

  48. I’ve never been to the real Mardi Gras, but I’ve been to some really fun local Mardi Gras parties when I lived in Oklahoma.

  50. I went to New Orleans when I turned 21 at Mardi Gras time, I went with a couple of friends from work & we took Amtrak & had a great time. I would love a chance to win this giveaway. Thanks for your generosity, love reading mysteries.

  56. I always dreamed of going but no sadly I cannot travel. I love this charming series and how the author transports the reader to all the culture, sights and sounds of NO ! Thank you for the chance

  59. My husband has family in the new Orleans area, bur I’ve never been there for Mardi Gras. Never been to a themed party, either.

  61. Hello!☺
    Unfortunately, I’ve never left Pennsylvania, the state I love in. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to actually be at Mardi He’s instead of watching it on TV. I’ve never attended a party like it either. I have a boring life. Hopefully, one day I’ll get to travel to Louisiana and see for myself why it’s like to party there.Thank you for the generous giveaway!! ?

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