MARDI GRAS POUND CAKE

Mardi Gras Pound Cake, Mardi Gras isn’t the same without some version of King Cake! This cream cheese and cinnamon filled pound cake and vibrant Mardi Gras colored sugars to garnish is my take on the classic.

After I realized I haven’t shared a Mardi Gras Pound Cake recipe with you, I got so excited formulating how I wanted to make it.

Traditional King Cake is made with a yeast dough and flavored with cinnamon and vanilla. They are much like cinnamon rolls except shaped differently and decorated with colored sugar. Alternately, King Cakes are now filled with chocolate, cream cheese, praline, and fruit fillings.

The problem I have with most store-bought King Cakes is that they’re dry. Dry King Cake and dry cinnamon rolls is the worst! Therefore, I made a traditional Mardi Gras King Cake that is moist and decadent. You’ll really like it if you’re looking for a classic king cake recipe.

Mardi Gras Pound Cake

For the cake, I started with one of my favorite basic pound cake recipes. Eggs are the only leavener in this traditional recipe. It does not contain baking soda or baking powder in it. Therefore, the recipe as written below is correct.

Now, you may ask ‘How will it rise without baking powder and/or baking soda?’ Here’s why and how.

1. You need to have all the ingredients at room temperature.
2. When you cream the butter and sugar together, you want to mix them until a pale yellow and very smooth.
3. Next, when you add the room temperature eggs into the butter/sugar mixture, add them one at a time and beat just until the yellow disappears into the batter before adding the next egg.
4. Furthermore, after you add the flour and sour cream don’t over mix the batter. At this point, if you overmix the batter it will become tough.

For the cinnamon filling

I want more than just a thin ribbon of cinnamon running through the cake. Therefore, I mixed cream cheese and cinnamon (and a few other ingredients) so there would be a tunnel of creamy cinnamon goodness in the center of the cake. It’s like having the frosting inside the cake.

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1. Bundt pan
2. Tilt-head stand mixer
3. Pure vanilla extract

Final tips

Using a light versus a dark pan as well as sitting it on a cookie sheet (which I do) to bake will affect the baking time. For my cakes, I bake in a light pan on a round cookie sheet.

Most importantly, keep an eye on your cake and start watching it closely after 60 minutes the first time you bake it. Note exactly what you used and how long you baked it for future reference.

I wrote a very detailed post on How to Bake the Perfect Pound Cake. I recommend you hop over and read it.

As well, I recommend calibrating your oven once a year. Read How to Calibrate your Oven here.

Print Recipe

Mardi Gras Pound Cake

Mardi Gras Pound Cake is a cream cheese and cinnamon filled pound cake with vibrant
Mardi Gras colored sugars to garnish. #poundcake #cake #MardiGras #dessert #recipe #cinnamon #creamcheese #bundt

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr 5 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American/Southern

Keyword: bundt cake, cake, cinnamon, cinnamon roll, cream cheese, dessert, pound cake, pound cake recipe

Servings: 16 servings

Calories: 536kcal

Ingredients

Filling

• 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon ground
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour sifted then measured
• 1 large egg at room temperature

Cake

• 1 cup butter at room temperature
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs at room temperature
• 8 ounces sour cream at room temperature, can also use buttermilk or Greek yogurt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour sifted, then measured
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Glaze

• 2 cups confectioners sugar sifted then measured
• 2.5-3 tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla use clear vanilla if you don't want the icing tinted
• 2-3 tablespoons green sugar or sprinkles
• 2-3 tablespoons gold sugar or sprinkles
• 2-3 tablespoons purple sugar or sprinkles

Instructions

Filling

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese, sugar, cinnamon, flour, and egg until smooth. Set aside.

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Grease a bundt or tube pan with solid vegetable shortening and sprinkle with sugar (or you can use flour). Alternately, you can use Wilton Cake Release.
• In another bowl of your electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time mixing until the egg is just mixed in before adding the next egg. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides.
• Sift, then measure the flour. Add the salt to your flour. With your mixer on low, add the flour alternately with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides.
• Add the vanilla extract and mix it into the batter. At this point, do not overbeat the batter.
• Spoon ⅔s of the cake batter into your prepared pan. Spoon the cinnamon filling down the center of the batter. Top with remaining cake batter.
• Bake at 350°F for 60 minutes. Test for doneness. The cake is done when no crumbs or dry crumbs remain on the wooden skewer. Check every 5 minutes if your cake is not done at 60 minutes.
• Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before inverting it onto a serving tray. Cool completely before glazing.

Glaze

• Sift powdered sugar. Add heavy cream and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
• Spoon the glaze over the cake and allow it to harden. Decorated with colored sprinkles.
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 536kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 214mg | Potassium: 107mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 802IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 2mg

You can also find great recipes at my recipe index or at Meal Plan Monday or Weekend Potluck.

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