Make This No-Churn, King Cake Ice Cream for Mardi Gras

The king cake is an essential part of a traditional Mardi Gras celebration. It's an oval-shaped pastry that tastes like a cross between a coffee cake and a French pastry with rich cream and cinnamon accents. It's decorated in colors that resemble a jeweled crown honoring the biblical wise men: gold for power, green for faith and purple for justice. Of course, no king cake is complete without the little baby token! The person who finds the baby inside the cake is named "king" for a day and bound by custom to host the next party and provide the king cake. Shake things up this year with a modern version of this beloved Mardi Gras tradition: king cake ice cream! This no-churn ice cream a breeze to make and will definitely be a new favorite at your Fat Tuesday celebration. 

If you can't find purple or gold-colored sugars, you can make them by using regular granulated sugar. Mix equal parts red and blue food coloring to get purple and plain yellow in place of the gold.

Create Cake Base 

Mix together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and spice cake mix. Set aside.

Make Whipped Cream

Beat the heavy whipping cream with a handheld blender on high until stiff peaks form.

Combine

Fold whipped cream into the spice cake mixture.

Add Food Coloring

Divide the ice cream base into three separate bowls, adding food coloring to each bowl (green, equal parts red and blue to make purple, and yellow). Add more gel food color until desired color is reached.

Swirl Together

Scoop each bowl of colored ice cream base into a loaf pan. Swirl the colors together using a toothpick or craft stick, being careful not to completely mix. Otherwise, the mixture turns a weird green/brown hue. If you're planning to place the little plastic baby in the ice cream, do so at this point.

Freeze

Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 3-5 hours (overnight is better).

Enjoy!

Scoop it out and garnish ice cream with colored sugar. Be sure to watch out for the baby!