It’s king cake season around here! We’ve enjoyed one or three of these Mardi Gras delicacies so far. They definitely aren’t in short supply, but they can be a little pricey and pretty difficult to make at home.

…Until now! The kids and I experimented and came up with an awesome substitute this week. Just like my other earthquake cake recipes, this follows the same general idea: gently swirl yummy fillings into a cake mix to have a pretty and delicious dessert. This ended up being one of the prettier ones I’ve made and our family absolutely devoured it!

Here’s our recipe for King Cake Earthquake Cake.

Ingredients

1 21oz box Cinnamon Swirl Muffin Mix (with both mix and cinnamon topping included)
1 1/4 cups milk, divided
2 eggs
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, melted
8oz cream cheese, room temperature
21oz can strawberry pie filling (any fruit will work)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
green, yellow, purple food coloring

Directions

In a large bowl, mix muffin mix (without topping), 1 cup milk, 2 eggs, and butter until well-blended. Pour mixture in a greased 8×8″ glass dish.

Mix cream cheese, 1/4 cup milk, and 3/4 of the pouch of cinnamon topping together until smooth. Spoon mixture into cake mix and gently fold in.

The two should not be mixed, just swirled together.

Spoon pie filling over the cake batter mixture. Again, gently fold in until there are swirls of pie filling incorporated into the cake.

Spoon remaining cinnamon topping over cake batter.

Bake cake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, until cake is not jiggly in the middle. The swirls might still be jiggly, but cake part should not move and should be firm to the touch on top.

While cake is baking, mix together 1 cup of powdered sugar and a splash of milk. In separate bowls, divide granulated sugar into 3 parts and, with 5-6 drops of food coloring each, color the sugar.

Once cake is finished baking and cooled for 10-15 minutes, pour powdered sugar mixture over the top.

Sprinkle dyed granulated sugar over icing.

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe:

Ingredients

1 21 oz box Cinnamon Swirl Muffin Mix with both mix and cinnamon topping included
1 1/4 cups milk divided
2 eggs
1/2 stick 1/4 cup butter, melted
8 oz cream cheese room temperature
21 oz can strawberry pie filling any fruit will work
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
green yellow, purple food coloring

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix muffin mix (without topping), 1 cup milk, 2 eggs, and butter until well-blended. Pour mixture in a greased 8x8" glass dish.
Mix cream cheese, 1/4 cup milk, and 3/4 of the pouch of cinnamon topping together until smooth. Spoon mixture into cake mix and gently fold in. The two should not be mixed, just swirled together.
Spoon pie filling over the cake batter mixture. Again, gently fold in until there are swirls of pie filling incorporated into the cake.
Bake cake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, until cake is not jiggly in the middle. The swirls might still be jiggly, but cake part should not move and should be firm to the touch on top.
While cake is baking, mix together 1 cup of powdered sugar and a splash of milk. In separate bowls, divide granulated sugar into 3 parts and, with 5-6 drops of food coloring each, color the sugar.
Once cake is finished baking and cooled for 10-15 minutes, pour powdered sugar mixture over the top. Sprinkle dyed granulated sugar over icing.

Check out the other Earthquake Cake Recipes by clicking the links below: