This post is sponsored by Tony Chachere’s, but all opinions are 100% my own.

It’s officially Carnival season, which is my second favorite time of the year because Carnival season also means King Cake season! I partnered with my friends at Tony Chachere’s to create this delicious short cut pecan praline cream cheese king cake that is made with crescent rolls so that you can enjoy a delicious king cake with way less effort and time. This shortcut king cake has a delicious cream cheese pecan praline filling and tastes just like it was made from scratch! You are going to love making this shortcut king cake version every single year!

This recipe idea started because Tony Chachere’s has this amazing Praline Honey Ham Injectable Marinade that tastes just like a pecan praline and I knew it would make the most delicious filling for this king cake. I whip together cream cheese, the praline honey ham marinade, powdered sugar, vanilla, and toasted pecans to create the best filling that is so creamy and delicious! Then, to further the pecan praline flavor, I also add a little of the marinade into the icing, which takes the whole king cake to the next level!

I love using crescent rolls for the dough here to save on time and effort. Instead of making a homemade dough from scratch that takes hours, this little shortcut will save you a whole afternoon of being in the kitchen while not sacrificing flavor.

What is a King Cake?

If you haven’t ever tried king cake before, it’s basically a cross between a pastry and a cinnamon roll in texture and can be filled with anything from cinnamon, cream cheese, nuts, fruit, or any other combination you love. They get topped with icing and purple, green, and gold or yellow sprinkles.

King cakes are shaped like a crown to symbolize the three wise men or three kings who visited after Christ’s birth and the colors represent faith (green), justice purple), and prosperity or power (gold or yellow). Traditionally there is a tiny baby hidden inside the cake for prosperity and luck and whoever gets that slice gets to be King or Queen for a day. It’s such a fun tradition to carry on each year to celebrate the season.

You are going to love making this shortcut pecan praline cream cheese king cake every year for Mardi Gras. This king cake really is so delicious!

Make sure to check out Tony Chachere’s for more Carnival season recipe inspiration and great products! (link)

Ingredients:

• 2 Cans of Crescent Rolls

For the Pecan Praline Cream Cheese Filling-

• 8 Ounces Cream Cheese, softened

• 2 Cups Powdered Sugar

• 2 Tablespoons Salted Butter , softened

• 1 Cup Chopped Toasted Pecans

• 1/4 Cup Tony Chachere’s Praline Honey Ham Injectable Marinade
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Icing-

• 2 Cups Powdered Sugar

• 1 Tbsp. Corn Syrup

• 3 Tbsp. Milk or Cream

• 2 Tsp. Tony Chachere’s Praline Honey Ham Injectable Marinade

• 1 Tsp. Vanilla

• Purple, Green, and Yellow Sprinkles for Topping

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

• Unroll crescent rolls into individual triangles and form a circle with the points towards the center overlapping slightly. Do this on parchment paper on a baking sheet.

• Make the filling by whipping cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, Praline Honey Ham Marinade, and vanilla together until smooth. 

• Fold in toasted pecans.

• Place the filling in a circle between both edges equally in the middle of the crescent rolls, careful to not overfill it. You may have leftover filling.

• Gently fold the outside edges of the crescent rolls to cover the filling all the way around, followed by the inside points until the filling is completely covered and the king cake is in a round shape.

• Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

• Make the icing by whisking powdered sugar, corn syrup, milk, Praline Honey Ham Injectable Marinade, and vanilla until smooth.

• Once cake has cooled, liberally drizzle icing all over the king cake and top with colored sprinkles as desired.

  Note: Add the king cake baby in with the filling before baking if you wish to do that tradition.

Laissez les bons temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!)