Name: Crepe King Cake
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: cake
Ingredients: 6 tablespoons sparkling or granulated sugar; 2-3 drops each, yellow, green & purple (or red & blue) (all natural food coloring); 3 small plastic baggies; 4 large eggs (-at room temp); 2 1/3 cups whole milk; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 2 1/3 cup all purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (-melted); 1 1/2 cups mascarpone (- at room temperature); 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (- cold); 6 tablespoons granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream; 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

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Crepe King Cake by Baking The Goods

If you’ve ever been to New Orleans during Mardi Gras, or frankly anytime of year, then you know King Cake is king in The Big Easy. It’s as New Orleanian as Bourbon Street but with less drunken coeds flashing their goodies for cheap plastic beads.

King Cake is a traditional treat enjoyed in the weeks leading up to lent. Most people know the gist of Fat Tuesday, an indulgent day of feasting and imbibing on all of the things before lent begins on Ash Wednesday. But, not everybody is as familiar with the King Cake, a ring shaped, yeasted dough cake, covered in over the top with jewel toned sprinkles. Along with the signature purple, gold and green sprinkles, a King Cake traditionally contains a hidden baby Jesus figurine inside. The baby Jesus is the reason for the season and also makes the whole King Cake experience an interactive game. Whoever finds the baby will be crowned Queen or King for the evening and will have good luck and prosperity for the year to come. But with great luck, comes great responsibility, the baby finder also has to provide the King Cake and the celebration the following year. So be careful what you wish for. I always wish I will find the baby JC but I’ve never been lucky.

I’ve made a few King Cakes in my day and I’ve always enjoyed what’s beneath all of those bright and bold sprinkles. This year, I wanted to change it up a bit and see if I could streamline the chaotic sprinkle situation into something a little less flashy. I thought about this for a long time and finally landed on this Crepe King Cake, it’s simple but it has many of the same elements and traditions of a King Cake.

I started with my all time favorite recipe for The Best Basic Crepes and then layered them up with an airy, whipped mascarpone whipped cream laced with a kiss of cinnamon. In keeping with the classic moniker of purple, gold and green sprinkles, I dyed my own using natural food coloring and Bob’s Red Mill Sparkling Sugar. My colors are a bit more subdued but give a glitzy nod to New Orleans. The crepe cake is topped with fluffy whipped cream and layered with the colorful sprinkles just before serving. And, it wouldn’t be a Crepe King Cake without everybody’s favorite mascot, Baby JC hidden inside.

We visited New Orleans last year for the first time and I’ve got to tell you, that city and the food really stole my heart. Read all about our trip and check out some of my favorite spots in the city on my blog post New Orleans Eats. If you can’t be in New Orleans, you can always eat like a New Orleanian, right? While this Crepe King Cake may not be the traditional King Cake, I think it’s about to become a Fat Tuesday tradition in our house.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a tiny baby Jesus figurines or sparkly sprinkles, this airy, sweet cake will still stack up to it’s colorful cousin. The crepes and mascarpone filling will still have you feeling festive.

Crepe King Cake - homemade sugar sprinkles

First thing is first, I made my own naturally dyed sugars for the top of the Crepe King Cake. It could not be simpler. You just put some sparkling sugar in a baggie, add a couple of drops of food coloring and squish until the color is fully saturated into the sugar. So easy.

Crepe King Cake - sprinkles, baby JC & mardi gras beads

Look at those jewel toned sprinkles, homemade sprinkles for the win! Don’t forget the baby and the beads.

The crepe batter is very simple and comes out best if you whizz it together in a blender.

Crepe King Cake making batter in Vitamix

Add the sugar right in with the eggs and milk and blend, then you blend until super smooth and frothy.

Blending crepe batter for Crepe King Cake

Whizz it all up on a high speed in a blender to make for weightless, airy crepes.

After you’ve blended the batter for a good long time, it comes out nice and thick but airy.

A thin, shallow pan helps the crepes cook quickly and evenly.

Whip the Mascarpone Whipped Cream together until it’s fluffy and airy like this.

All the layers needed for the Crepe King Cake:
1. Cake Stand
2. Best Basic Crepes
3. Mascarpone Whipped Cream
4. Purple, green & gold sprinkles
5. A tiny plastic little baby Jesus

Crepe King Cake adding whipped mascarpone

Layer it up by spreading a couple of heaping tablespoons of whipped mascarpone between each crepe layer.

Smooth out the whipped mascarpone with a small silicone spatula between each crepe layer.

Top the whipped mascarpone with the prepared crepes and continue until they are all gone.

Hide that baby JC somewhere in the crepe king cake for some lucky King or Queen to find later. This is obviously my favorite part of making the Crepe King Cake.