The Easiest King Cake Recipe Ever for Mardi Gras (5 Ingredients) Shortcut Recipes Cakes/Cupcakes Holidays Desserts Holidays Entertaining

Intimidated at the thought of making a king cake? Well, I am. After reading Holly Budde's easy recipe for shortcut king cake (yum!), inspiration hit me on how to make a king cake for Mardi Gras. One that didn't take hours in the kitchen and too many (if any) baking skills.

Here's my easy (super easy!) idea for another Mardi Gras king cake for those of us who wait until the very last minute or just don't have the time. It starts with a box cake mix, which cuts down the ingredient list and the prep time. After baking a vanilla cake mix in a bundt pan, a simple three ingredient glaze is mixed up and spread over the cooled cake. Yellow, green and purple sprinkles decorate the cake and turn it into a Mardi Gras dessert for your Fat Tuesday celebrations.

Want an even easier cake? For an even easier cake – if that's even possible – use a can of vanilla frosting instead of making the glaze. Now that's a shortcut recipe!

Let the kids decorate the cake the the sprinkles and other Mardi Gras decorations. Such a festive and fun dessert! 

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes (approximately) 
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients

Cake 

• 16 ounces (1 box) vanilla cake mix, plus ingredients to make it

Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 tablespoons milk

Decorations

• sprinkles (green, purple and yellow)

Here's how to make it:

1. Prepare and bake the cake mix using a bundt pan. Remove from pan and cool. If you want, add a plastic king cake baby. Remember it is a choking hazard!
2. While cake is cooling, combine the glaze ingredients.
3. Spread the glaze on the cake. 
4. Alternate the sprinkle colors around the cake. Store the cake in an airtight container on the counter. 

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