Mardi Gras season means king cakes - Daily Comet

One of the tastiest harbingers of Mardi Gras season, the king cake, has arrived.

Whether you're after the traditional cinnamon-flavored cake or one of the many variations that creative bakers have added, the king cake serves as a delicious part of local Carnival celebrations.

But it wasn't always thus, according to Bud Picou, vice-president and co-owner of Mr. Ronnie's Famous Hot Donuts.

Mr. Ronnie's has served a fried, doughnut-like version of the king cake since its inception in 1994, and the business's founder, Ronnie Picou, made king cakes when he worked for the New Orleans-based Tastee Donuts franchise in Houma for two decades before that.

"Back when we started making them, people didn't even know what it was in Houma," Bud Picou said. "We made a few but hardly sold any. That was in the mid-70s."

Picou said that once Houma did discover the king cake, it caught on quickly.

"When people found out what they were, it took off like wildfire," Picou said. "It was like an explosion. We sold maybe 100 in our second year. But in the third year, it was thousands and thousands."

As one might expect, the king cake at Mr. Ronnie's is fried, a doughnut cake as opposed to a cake doughnut, as it were, but decorated like any other.

They also offer a king cake-flavored doughnut for those who want to sample the flavor before investing in a whole cake.

Chez Cake also makes a king-cake flavored doughnut as well as full king cakes, in the traditional way, with an oven.

They are so popular that owner Sarah Foret said that it creates a noticeable spike in her business.

"It's Christmas all over again," Foret said. "We don't start (baking king cakes) before Christmas, and that's a personal choice."

In addition to the traditional cinnamon flavor, Foret has other varieties of king cakes, chantilly with fresh fruit covered in an apricot glaze, coconut-fudge and caramel-apple.

Chez Cake opened in 2013, but Foret has been baking professionally for decades, including a stint in Texas, where she said king cakes are present, but more as a novelty.

"They do it different than New Orleans," she said. "It doesn't have the same sparkle and shine. As I travel the country and beyond our borders, with all the things I taste, I always come back to (the king cake)."

Mr. Ronnie's Famous Donuts is at 1171 W. Tunnel Blvd. and Chex Cake is at 500 Corporate Drive, both in Houma.

Other places to get king cakes locally include:

Bertinot’s Best Bakery, 996 W. Tunnel Blvd., Houma.
Cajun Pecan House, 14808 W. Main St., Cut Off.
Cannata’s Market, 6289 W. Park Ave. and 1977 Prospect Blvd., both in Houma.
Caro's Cakes and Catering, 830 Bayou Blue Road, Houma.
Petersen Donuts, 301 Bayou Gardens Blvd., Houma.
Rouses Markets, various locations.

Staff Writer Scott Yoshonis can be reached at 850-1148 or syoshonis@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @Foster_Cajun.

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