the season of the king cake.

It’s not Carnival season without consuming at least one king cake per week in the Big Easy.  However, these rings of dough have changed quite a bit over the years.  The king cakes of my childhood were much simpler.  Much less like a big cinnamon roll & more just a slightly sweet & rather dry bread sprinkled with sugar & maraschino cherries strategically placed on the surface of the king cake every few inches.  One thing that hasn’t changed is the plastic baby hidden somewhere inside the king cake (representing the baby Jesus, yes, we are indeed a Catholic city).  As a kid, half the joy of eating a king cake is the possibility of finding the baby in your slice of cake!  And, if you selected a slice with a maraschino cherry, you had a good chance of discovering the baby hiding just below the cherry, naturally all the kids wanted the cherry slices. 

As an adult, getting the baby in your piece of king cake doesn’t have the same excitement as it did when I was child.  The tradition is that if you get the baby, you bring the next king cake.  Once Carnival season begins, you have king cakes at every gathering, dinners with friends or family, office meetings, what have you.  My friends brought king cakes to their respective offices to share with their co-workers during the first week of Carnival season.  At one office, the baby was left behind in the king cake box.  At the other office, the baby disappeared completely.  My friends have no idea which co-workers got the babies, but whoever they are, they’ve committed serious Carnival fouls by not declaring that they found the babies & bringing in the next king cake.  I don’t know what these people are thinking, actually, I don’t believe they are thinking or they’re just completely clueless.  Those sort of people don’t even deserve to eat king cake!!

Moving on from Carnival fouls, we must also recognize the potential perils that the king cake baby poses.  The baby isn’t nearly as easy to find in a king cake these days, it could be anywhere.  Unless the baker chooses not to put the baby inside because many are concerned about the choking hazard.  So, instead, they put the baby on top & allow the consumer to insert the baby into the king cake from underneath so it is not revealed before eating.  If the baby is inside the king cake, the packaging includes a large warning of the plastic baby doll & potential dangers of choking on the little plastic baby.  Moral of the story: if you hit something hard as you bite into your slice of king cake, do NOT swallow.

the Butcher's "Elvis"

Now that we’ve thoroughly covered the little plastic baby that completes the king cake consuming experience, let’s discuss what sort of king cake to eat…there are SO many options these days.  I was never a huge fan of those old dry king cakes of my past.  What we now consider a “traditional” is a cinnamon filled, braided king cake covered with icing & sugar.  The sugar is always dyed the three colors of Carnival: purple, green & gold.  Building from the traditional, you can add fillings…apple, lemon, blueberry, cherry, cream cheese, cream cheese & fruit…you get the idea.  These “filled" king cakes are more like a deliciously naughty breakfast treat.  I recommend pairing it with a glass of milk or bubbly, depending on how festive you’re feeling. 

All of these filled king cakes are still considered pretty safe, bakers & pastry chefs have gotten much more adventurous with their king cakes in the past few years.  I read an article on nola.com highlighting some of the most inventive new king cakes around town.   I tried the “Elvis” at Cochon’s Butcher, I have to admit, it was rather disappointing.  I give the “Elvis” an A for concept & a C- for execution.  I haven’t had Domenica’s new invention, which includes a gold leaf topping, but I hear very good things.  I have a list of different king cakes to try before the end of Carnival season & I better get serious because it’s a short season this year. 

the baby crowns from my Randazzo's king cake

All of that said, locals, especially New Orleans natives still have their old favorites that we will remain loyal to til the very end.  Manny Randazzo’s king cake is considered one of the best.  Haydel’s is also in the top 5.  Back in the days of McKenzie’s, all locals picked up their king cakes there, I still miss that place, their glazed donuts, chocolate turtles, & petit-fours.  I’m getting a little farklempt just thinking about McKenzie’s, still a major loss to the city’s sweet tooth.  When I worked at UNO out by the Lakefront, I used to stop at a great neighborhood bakery named, Adrian’s.  Everything at Adrian’s was delicious!  Sadly, we lost that Adrian’s with Hurricane Katrina, but one of the bakers from Adrian’s opened her own place, Sweet Savors, not far from the old Adrian’s.  I’m not often near the Lake, but a king cake from Sweet Savors is definitely worth the trip.  BTW, Adrian’s does have another location in New Orleans, so you can still get their king cakes, too.  GoNOLA.com has an article discussing some of locals’ favorite king cakes, several of which, I’ve mentioned above.  For those unfortunate souls that don’t live in New Orleans & won’t be visiting during Carnival season, many of our most popular bakers (including Randazzo’s & Haydel’s) ship fresh king cakes all over the country, you can simply order online.

The big question…to fill or not fill your king cake?  Are you a king cake traditionalist?  And, who makes your favorite king cake in town??