For all the changes for this year’s curtailed Carnival, when it comes to king cakes the season began in textbook form.
The line at Manny Randazzo's on King's Day looked like a Thanksgiving doorbusters sales. People scoured for Dong Phuong satellite resellers. Social media feeds exploded with colorful expressions of seasonal glee, cultural pride and dietary abandon.
Mardi Gras parades and parties are off this year, but Andrew Baer's love for king cake is burning as passionately as ever — pandemic be damned.
And, of course, throughout the whole season, there has been the ever-dueling yin and yang of traditional and creative.
During any Carnival season I hear from king cake purists, whose standards of excellence are specific and set long ago. I’m also in touch with others who play the field, those whose favorite is probably the next one they have.
As if there was any doubt, the Mardi Gras spirit is manifestly clear at Commander’s Palace now that the restaurant has joined the growing rank…
My approach is to dabble with the new, try what my trusted friends swear by, and come on home to the old faithfuls.
Below, I’m rounding up at the best of what this strategy brought to my king cake plate this year (so far at least).
These fell into several broad categories the traditional, the modern, and then those oddities and riffs that are not king cake at all, but are part of the season and are too fun not to include.
Let’s be clear: this is not a best of list. Instead, I submit this in the spirit of casting more light on what’s out there for the final stretch of Carnival.
Bars will be closed, people will have to pass through checkpoints to get to major Carnival gathering spots like Bourbon and Frenchman streets,…
After all, in this inscrutable season, king cake brings us one more certainty: after Fat Tuesday, it’s over. By Ash Wednesday the king cake’s special significance is gone, and pursuing it will bring only sugary calories and the chiding of social media scolds.
So with the days of the king cake’s reign running down, let’s enjoy each one, and let’s eat.
The traditional king cake from Balestra's Food Center in Belle Chasse is richly layered with cinnamon.
Balestra’s Food Center
7902 Hwy. 23, Belle Chasse, 504-393-1012
A famous name in Belle Chasse, this grocery turned heads a few years back when it racked up awards for specialty cakes at the King Cake Fest. The daily cakes, here are just as noteworthy for the traditionalists. These cakes swirl with layers of cinnamon with an airy but also dense texture. It tastes old school, done with old fashioned care.
A mini king cake for one (perhaps?) from Cannata's, sold through King Cake Hub in New Orleans.
Mini king cake from Cannata’s
(via King Cake Hub, 639 N. Broad St., 504-518-2953)
King cake by the slice is always an option when you don’t want a whole king cake. But a mini cake is just more of an experience. This one from Houma-based Cannata’s (stocked at King Cake Hub) brings the full circle of a king cake form, with all the festive flair on top to make it feels like a party, even if it’s just for one. Just ask my neighbor, who devoured the one we left on her porch the night she had to begin a quarantine.
Joe's Cafe and Donuts makes a big, puffy king cake with the texture of a glazed donut.
Joe’s Café & Donuts
Various locations, see joesknowsfood.com
Those who make good donuts should make good king cakes. It’s simple logic. There’s something else going on at Joe’s though. Puffy, airy, crisp under its donut glaze and then slathered with icing, this is a giant donut in king cake clothing. I have three words for this: breakfast is served.
The muffuletta mambo is a king cake-themed muffuletta designed to be the centerpiece of a porch party, from the catering department at Cafe Reconcile.
Muffuletta mambo savory king cake from Café Reconcile
1631 O.C. Haley Blvd., 504-400-0078 (call catering department)
The savory king cake lost its shock value sometime back when boudin king cakes became standard grocery store items. This muffuletta riff sets a new standard. Yes, it is essentially a ring-shaped calzone muffuletta; its strongest connection to king cake is the way it becomes the centerpiece of any table. The casing is like pizza crust, the filling is generously stacked, the dough stars and plastic crown make it festive. It’s part of a Mardi Gras catering menu designed for this year’s small, porch-sized socializing, and it supports the youth development program at this nonprofit café. Sold by pre-order only.
A "junior," or smaller, version of the Ponchatoula king cake, is prepared at Maurice French Pastries in Metairie, La., Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Ponchatoula king cake from Maurice French Pastries
3501 Hessmer Ave., 504-885-1526
Small is a relative term when it comes to king cakes. Maurice is known for its humongous cakes, big enough for 30 or more servings. This year, the big seller is what bakery proprietor Jean Luc Albin calls the "junior" king cake, but it's still a decadent feast. The Ponchatoula just keeps layering on flavor and richness with Bavarian cream, whipped cream, Chantilly cream, toasted almonds, fresh strawberries and a drape of purple, green and gold sugar. Maurcie has been shipping a lot of king cake this season, but the Ponchatoula isn't fit for delivery. For something this fresh and glorious, you have to go to the source.
Churros king cake from Bearcat Cafe in downtown New Orleans.
Churros king cake from Bearcat CBD
845 Carondelet St., 504-766-7399
This is another “not a king cake” that I could not stop thinking about once I heard about it. What is a churro if not a long, crisp delivery vehicle for cinnamon and sugar? Bend and braid it into a ring, scatter it with goofy candy stars and unicorns and you have a “cake” with ridges of crunch that is a joy to untangle. Preorder only from the CBD location.
The mixed berry king cake from Mayhew Bakery in New Orleans.
Berry king cake from Mayhew Bakery
3201 Orleans Ave., 504-702-8078
The icing has a subtle iridescent sparkle at this bake shop by Bayou St. John, but it’s the berry filling (mostly) hidden within that sealed the deal for me. Tart and jammy, mixed with cream cheese that is baked in, for a smooth, consistent filling, it brings some bright balance to the sweet cake.
Advocate staff photo by Ian McNulty - Adrian's Bakery in Gentilly makes a plain king cake that remains its seasonal bestseller.
Plain king cake from Adrian’s Bakery
4710 Paris Ave., 504-282-2283
How, in this era of ever-changing, ever-more-elaborate king cakes, can a “plain” version stand out? Start with tradition, pursue it with care, add individualistic character. Adrian’s Bakery makes it look simple, but after spending some time watching the Darby family at work behind the scenes for a story on the beginning on this year’s season, I have renewed admiration for what it takes. The approach has made the plain king cake Adrian’s perennial best seller.
Chocolate drips over a mini king cake from Bittersweet Confections.
Chocolate king cake from Bittersweet Confections
639 S. Hennessey St., 504-407-3332
Mini king cakes are huge this year, thanks of course to the reduced size of our gatherings. This one from Bittersweet Confections still had enough rich, dark chocolate for a small village. The mini and regular sizes are at the bakery’s Mid-City location and also at King Cake Hub.
Salted caramel king cake with candied pecans from Not Too Fancy, a home-based pop-up bakery.
Salted caramel king cake from Not Too Fancy
Pop-up bakery, see updates at instagram.com/nottoofancybakery
These audaciously delicious king cakes have been making the rounds for a while, and it seems that every time baker Calvin Virgil has another pop-up or pickup day the legend grows a bit more. The following is well earned. The foundation is a flaky, pastry-like cake, airy and puffy and delicate and layered with icing, salted caramel glaze and candied pecans. It blends the texture of a French-style galette des rois with the New Orleans impulse to dress it up to the nines. King cake orders are finished for this season, but look for Not Too Fancy’s off-season work to resume later this year and for future pop-ups at the Broadmoor coffee shop Petite Rouge (3146 Calhoun St.).
Bananas Foster king cake with gold leaf and banana and caramel glaze from Gracious Bakery.
Bananas Foster king cake from Gracious Bakery + Café
1000 S. Norman C. Francis Pwky. (504) 321-6233; 4930 Prytania St., (504) 300-8135; 2854 St Charles Ave., (504) 301-9949
Gracious came up with a make-at-home king cake kit this year, a resourceful way to meet customers staying home and looking for more quiet Carnival activities. In the bakery, however, the Gracious crew also again shows what the pros can do that we home hobbyists can’t, and the latest example is this season’s banana Foster king cake, with dual doses of banana and caramel glaze, whisps of gold leaf on top and a hint of rum running around inside.
Strawberry king cake with balsamic glaze from the Station on Bienville Street in Mid-City.
Strawberry balsamic king cake at The Station
4400 Bienville St., 504-309-4548
This Mid-City bakeshop and café stocks both sweet (the subtly sensational chocolate and coconut) and savory (a muffuletta riff scattered with ham and olive salad). This one falls somewhere in between, with the sweet crunch of the sugared covering blending with thick, dark tart flavor of strawberries and cooked balsamic vinegar. Sold by the slice in the shop, or whole by pre-order.
A pair of plastic babies ride atop a cafe au lait king cake, a collaboration between Cake Cafe founder Steven Himelfarb, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and French Truck Coffee, new for 2021. A handwritten message adorns the cake box behind them.
Goat cheese and apple king cake from Cake Café
(with NOCCA at French Truck Coffee)
See nolacakes.com and frenchtruckcoffee.com
This is a welcome back story for a great king cake we didn’t even get a season to miss. Cake Café closed for good last spring; but founder Steve Himelfarb partnered with his longtime neighbors at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts to bring back his king cakes as a benefit for the high school’s culinary program. Sold by pre-order through the school and on the counter at French Truck Coffee locations (and at King Cake Hub), this sweet/sour/mellow cake is a modern rendition that already has notes of nostalgia. A new cake from the same partnership this year adds a blend of French Truck coffee in a cream cheese filling.
Soft pretzel king cakes with praline filling from GW Fins, an upscale seafood restaurant adding to the ranks of king cakes in 2021.
Soft pretzel king cakes at GW Fins
808 Bienville St., 504-581-3467
At GW Fins), the upscale seafood house, chef Mike Nelson devised a head-turning new king cake that looks like a soft pretzel in a Mardi Gras costume. It’s a mini king cake with praline filling twisted into the shape of pretzel, with the fluffy chew of a soft pretzel and the flavor of king cake. Cute as pie, they're designed for both single servings and sharing, packaged six to a box (at the restaurant or at King Cake Hub) or sold individually at the restaurant.
The king cake cheesecake from Copeland's is a decadent combination of of desserts.
King cake cheesecake at Copeland’s of New Orleans
Overtop is pretty much the ground floor for the Copeland’s brand, so of course it’s take on king cake goes to extremes of indulgence. The king cake cheese cake has the heft of the Thanksgiving turkey, the cinnamon vanilla flavor of king cake and the creamy rich texture of classic cheese cake. The purple, green and gold topping practically glows, and a plastic baby set on top is along for this wild ride.
King cake gets Latin flavor from guava cream cheese at Norma's Sweets Bakery in Mid-City.
Guava king cake from Norma’s Sweets Bakery
2529 Bienville St., 504-309-5401
This Latin American grocery and bakery introduced its own cross-cultural king cake a few years back and its been a perennial favorite. It starts with a traditional New Orleans king cake and adds seams of cream cheese and guava paste, made in house with guava fruit and sugar. It has a mellow-sweet flavor, with a mild tanginess and tropical brightness.
For a Mardi Gras transformed by the pandemic, king cake is one piece of the traditional Carnival time celebrations that has held fast in New Orleans.
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