This spiked king cake flavored smoothie is a tasty, nourishing, and filling concoction that'll keep you marching the parade route all day long
It's that time of year! Mardi Gras is upon us, which means king cake everywhere.
You can seriously get king cake-flavored anything: coffee, vodka, muffins, smoothies.
Last Thursday, I went to a King Cake Party where everyone brought a king cake. We had 12 king cakes and tasted them all to decide which one was our favorite, which had the best icing, which one was the prettiest, etc.
That means that I had to try 12 different cakes. Ok so "had to" is obviously an exaggeration, but in the name of cake and Mardi Gras and because I love that kind of thing, I had to.
I don't typically eat a bunch of cake on a daily basis. I don't intentionally avoid sweets, but I just don't have them very often. When I want them, I have them. When I'm not thinking about them, I don't actively seek them out, and I rarely have cravings for sweet things.
This all means that my body isn't used to a lot of sugar at one time. So yeah, I occasionally eat mounds of cookie dough while baking cookies, but that's important for quality control.
Y'all, I was hungover the next day. We're talking headache, fatigue, a little bit of nausea -- all from king cake (no adult beverages were involved in this hangover)! And by king cake I mean too much king cake.
I'd like you to know that I had one small bite of each piece, so I could accurately take notes. There was one cake I accidentally tried twice which was disappointing because I found it too cinnamon-y flavored. And then I needed to test two cakes again to decide which one I liked better.
All this being said, I never want to eat king cake again.
That is until Sunday when I went to the King Cake Festival. Well, I went to the fitness challenge before the festival because barre3 New Orleans participated in the fitness challenge. After the fitness challenge, Smoothie King had King Cake Smoothie samples.
I felt like I could tolerate a smoothie since it wasn't cake. I'm glad I did because they were tasty, so I decided to recreate it myself!
I added some spinach because they don't sell carrot sticks next to the cotton candy and blow-up tubas (i.e. I need a few veggies in my Mardi Gras diet)
And since it is Mardi Gras, I spiked my smoothie because duh all Mardi Gras smoothies should be spiked. If you're not interested in adding rum and/or amaretto, just omit it and add some extra almond milk if necessary.
Other than that, this smoothie is a tasty, nourishing, and filling concoction that'll keep you marching the parade route all day long.

King Cake Smoothie
Ingredients
- ยฝ banana frozen
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- ยพ cup unsweetened almond milk or pecan milk
- ยพ cup plain Greek yogurt or other plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ยผ teaspoon cinnamon
- ยผ teaspoon almond extract
- dash of salt
- 2 tablespoon amaretto optional
- 2 tablespoon rum optional
Instructions
- Add frozen banana, spinach, almond milk, greek yogurt, maple syrup (if using), vanilla extract, cinnamon, almond extract, and dash of salt to a blender. Blend until completely smooth.
- Pour into a glass and stir in amaretto and rum if using.
Notes
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If you're wondering which king cake won...
Best Presentation: Cake Cafe
Best Icing: Caluda's
Best Filling: Cake Cafe
Most Unique: Willa Jean
People's Choice: McKenzie's
Note -- my favorites were the Intercontinental Hotel and Caluda's
Meme
Kelli @ Hungry Hobby says
First, cookie dough is the only reason I bake cookies. Second, I've never heard of a King cake but they look really fun!
Meme says
Oh girl, you NEED to try king cake! It's like a cinnamon roll turned cake, and it's a sugary overload of tastiness. But thank God it only comes around once a year haha!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Well this is one fun "spiked" smoothie ๐
Meme says
Thanks lady ๐ xxoo
Alexandra Caspero says
This smoothie looks perfect for getting the party started! I've never had King Cake! And I feel like a total loser that we didn't do ANYTHING for Mardi Gras. Can we still be friends?!
Meme says
Haha!! We can still be friends; just be sure to have a drink on Mardi Gras day and you're forgiven ๐
Next year, you'll need king cake though!
Melanie says
What a fun idea and great way to sneak some veggies into a Mardi Gras celebration! ๐
Meme says
Thanks Melanie! I need all the veggies I can get over Mardi Gras ๐
Lisa @ Healthy Nibbles & Bits says
That is one spectacular king cake party! I've had cookie hangovers before, so I FEEL YOU!
The one (and only) time I've had king cake, I got the piece with the baby in it! Felt like I won the lottery! Love your smoothie version of it!
Meme says
Haha sugar hangovers are the worst!!
And omg getting the baby is so fun! (Until you've had like 10 king cakes and you keep getting the baby eek)
Rebecca says
Amaretto and Rum?! Those flavors sound delicious added to a smoothie!
Meme says
I know right?!! SO good ๐