King Cake Pull-Apart Delight (Print Version)

A festive cinnamon and sugar pull-apart with cream cheese icing and colorful sugar decorations.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Dough

01 - 2 cans (16 oz each) refrigerated biscuit dough
02 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
03 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar
04 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

→ Filling

05 - 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
06 - 1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

→ Cream Cheese Icing

07 - 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
08 - 1 cup powdered sugar
09 - 2 tablespoons milk
10 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ Decorations

11 - Purple, green, and gold sanding sugars or colored sugar sprinkles

# Step-by-Step:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick spray or butter.
02 - In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and ground cinnamon and set aside.
03 - Cut each refrigerated biscuit into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a smooth ball.
04 - Dip each dough ball in melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until evenly coated.
05 - Arrange half of the coated dough balls in the prepared Bundt pan. Sprinkle with half of the brown sugar and half of the pecans if using.
06 - Repeat layering with the remaining dough balls, brown sugar, and pecans.
07 - Pour any remaining melted butter over the assembled dough layers.
08 - Bake for 32 to 38 minutes until the bread achieves a golden brown color and is cooked through. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate and cool slightly.
09 - Beat softened cream cheese until smooth, then blend in powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until the mixture is creamy and pourable.
10 - Drizzle cream cheese icing over the warm monkey bread. Immediately sprinkle purple, green, and gold sugars in sections to create traditional King Cake appearance.
11 - Serve warm, pulling apart pieces for individual servings.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It looks absolutely showstopping but comes together faster than you'd think, using refrigerated biscuit dough as your secret shortcut.
  • The pull-apart format makes it impossibly fun to eat—there's something genuinely joyful about tearing into warm, gooey layers of cinnamon and brown sugar.
  • Those vibrant Mardi Gras colors aren't just pretty; they actually taste like celebration, and everyone always asks how you made something this festive.
02 -
  • Don't skip the 10-minute cooling period in the pan—I learned the hard way that pulling it out too early results in a crumbly mess, while waiting too long makes it stick stubbornly to the pan.
  • The cream cheese icing must go on while the bread is still warm, or it won't melt and adhere properly; cold bread = icing that just sits on top like a sad sweater.
  • If you're including the plastic baby for tradition, make absolutely sure your guests know it's there—nothing kills the festive vibe faster than an unexpected surprise during chewing.
03 -
  • Use a Bundt pan with a removable bottom if you have one—it makes cleanup infinitely easier and guarantees a perfect release every single time.
  • Don't let the melted butter cool too much before dipping, or it'll be harder to coat the dough balls evenly and they'll stick to your fingers instead of getting that buttery layer.
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