Twin Cities bakeries gear up for a New Orleans-style Fat Tuesday with King Cake - St. Paul Pioneer Press

King Cake, the festive New Orleans-style sweet treat popular on Fat Tuesday, is making the rounds in the Twin Cities metro area.

The oval-shaped, bread-like Mardi Gras cakes come in a variety of fillings, are topped with frosting and then sprinkled with purple-, gold- and green-colored sugar. Traditionally, King Cakes are made with a plastic baby hidden inside — a symbol of good luck bestowed upon the recipient who scores the slice of cake containing it — but we found that some bakeries have made tweaks to this.

Bakeries, including Great Harvest Bread Co. in St. Paul and Dorothy Ann Bakery in Woodbury, are opting to offer other trinkets, such as a gold coin, inside the cake. Other places are scrapping the practice altogether, while others offer a plastic baby, so be sure to ask, if it’s a must-have for you.

“The only significant change has been moving from offering a plastic baby — the age-old tradition — to our chocolate coin,” said Bonnie Alton, owner of Great Harvest Bread Co., the Cathedral Hill bakery that has been offering King Cakes since 2012. “Our original source for the ‘baby’ dried up and the next best thing (available) was so small it was a choking hazard. In any case, we don’t put the proffered item inside the cake, but leave that up to the customer.”

If you’re planning on March 5 to mark a New Orleans-style Fat Tuesday with friends and family, let them eat King Cake. Here are some bakeries that offer them. Take note that some bakeries offer the cakes on a first-come, first-served basis. Others recommend or require pre-orders.

King Cake from Dorothy Ann Bakery in Woodbury. (Courtesy of Dorothy Ann Bakery)

Dorothy Ann Bakery (710 Commerce Drive, Woodbury; 651-731-3323; dorothyannbakery.com). For more than 20 years, Dorothy Ann has been serving, in a festive box, King Cakes with lots of filling, gooey icing and Mardi Gras-colored sugars. Currently Dorothy Ann is offering caramel pecan, raspberry cream cheese, cinnamon and lemon cream cheese fillings ($18.99, serves 10 to 12). The bakery plans to make several hundred cakes a few days before and on Fat Tuesday, and they will be available at the bakery for walk-ins on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. To guarantee availability, customers are encouraged to order one to two days in advance by calling 651-731-3323 or ordering online at shop.dorothyannbakery.com.

Great Harvest Bread Co. (534 Selby Ave., St. Paul; 651-221-1057; stpaulbread.com). King Cakes with almond or cinnamon filling, frosting, festive sprinkles in a festive box come with a trinket, or golden chocolate coin you can insert into the cake, if you wish ($17.95, serves 8 to 10). The cakes are available daily from Feb. 27 through March 5 by reserving by phone or stopping in.

King Cake making at Great Harvest Bread Co. in St. Paul. (Courtesy of Great Harvest Bread Co.)

Great Harvest Bread Co. (13714 Grove Drive, Maple Grove, 763-416-1911; maplegrovebread.com). Three filling flavors — cinnamon caramel pecan, raspberry white chocolate and blueberry cheesecake — are available ($18.95, serves 12 to 15 people) from Feb. 26 through March 5, or while supplies last. Pre-orders are recommended two to three days in advance.

Great Harvest Bread Co. (17416 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka; 952-476-2515; greatharvestmn.com). Traditional cinnamon ($15.95, serves 8) is available through pre-orders. Pre-orders are taken through March 5 at least one day in advance.

Isles Bun & Coffee (1424 W. 28th St., Minneapolis; 612-870-4466; islesbun.com): King Cake ($25.50, serves 8 to 12) with classic sweet dough is braided and topped with cream cheese frosting and decorated Mardi Gras style, including plastic baby inside. Available year-round by pre-ordering, which is recommended one day in advance.

Kowalski’s Markets (several Twin Cities locations; kowalskis.com). King Cake is served on a 9-by-13-inch sheet cake board ($11.99, serves 8 to 12) and is available in stores from March 3-5. Supplies are limited. Customers can call their closest store in advance to place their order or have one set aside for pickup.

Lunds & Byerlys (several Twin Cities locations; lundsandbyerlys.com). King Cake, made with a rich, sweet dough filled with cinnamon and sprinkled with sugar in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, gold and green ($14.99, 20 ounces), is available March 1-5 at Lunds & Byerlys stores. Availability is limited, so Lunds & Byerlys recommends calling the bakery at your nearest store to order ahead of time.

Mardis Gras donuts are offered alongside traditional King Cakes at PJ Murphy’s Bakery in St. Paul. (Courtesy of PJ Murphy’s Bakery)

PJ Murphy’s Bakery (1279 Randolph Ave., St. Paul; 651-699-9292; pjmurphybakery.com). Raspberry and sweet cream cheese-filled King Cakes ($16, 22 ounces) are available starting Thursday and running through Mardis Gras on a first-come, first-served basis. Pre-orders are also being taken for pick-up March 5. Pre-orders must be made by noon March 4. In addition, PJ Murphy is featuring Mardis Gras doughnuts ($2.50 each), while supplies last.

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