King Cake Pull-Apart Bread (Printer-Friendly)

A festive cinnamon-swirled pull-apart with vibrant sugars and luscious cream cheese icing for sweet celebrations.

# What You 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

# Directions:

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.
03 - Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
04 - Dip each dough ball in melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
05 - Layer half of the coated dough balls in the prepared Bundt pan. Sprinkle half of the brown sugar and half of the pecans over the dough balls.
06 - Repeat layering with remaining dough balls, brown sugar, and pecans.
07 - Pour any remaining melted butter over the assembled dough balls.
08 - Bake for 32 to 38 minutes until the bread is golden brown and cooked through. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate.
09 - Beat softened cream cheese until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until creamy and pourable.
10 - Drizzle cream cheese icing over warm monkey bread. Immediately sprinkle with purple, green, and gold sugars in sections to mimic traditional King Cake colors.
11 - Serve warm, pulling apart pieces to enjoy.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It feels like a showstopper but uses refrigerated biscuits, so you're never stressed about yeast or rising times.
  • The combination of warm cinnamon dough, pecans, and that silky cream cheese icing creates this perfect balance between indulgent and not-too-heavy.
  • Pull-apart bread means everyone gets involved, turning dessert into an interactive moment instead of just plating something up.
  • Those Mardi Gras colors make it instantly festive without requiring any special decorating skills.
02 -
  • If your icing is too thick and won't drizzle, warm it slightly over a double boiler or add milk by the teaspoon—don't add too much water or it'll taste off.
  • Don't skip the 10-minute cooling time in the pan; the bread needs those minutes to set just enough to hold together when inverted, or you'll end up with a beautiful pile of pieces instead of an intact ring.
  • The colored sugar must go on while the icing is still tacky, or it'll slide right off—work quickly but without stress; a few granules in the wrong section adds to the charm.
03 -
  • Roll the dough balls uniform in size so they bake evenly and the whole bread rises in an even dome rather than leaning to one side.
  • If you can't find colored sanding sugar, use regular granulated sugar tinted with food coloring mixed in a small bowl—it won't sparkle quite as beautifully but it works in a pinch.
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