10 unique ways to eat king cake in New Orleans

Photo courtesy of The Creole Creamery

Fun riffs on the Mardi Gras treat

As soon as early January hits, a special treat starts popping up at parties, offices and homes all over Louisiana.

“King cake is a New Orleans staple,” says Adrienne Rousse, store manager at 71-year-old Gambino’s Bakery which sells 100,000 of these baked goods annually. “Mardi Gras revolves around it.”

It all starts with a simple, fluffy danish or brioche dough that is traditionally flavored with a cinnamon and brown sugar blend. Then, it’s iced and sprinkled with purple, green and gold sugar. Filled king cakes are popular, too. At Gambino’s, the most beloved fillings include cream cheese, Bavarian cream, praline, strawberry and apple. Rousse’s personal favorite is peanut butter and strawberry jelly.

Since Carnival and Mardi Gras are tied to a Catholic religious season (from Epiphany on January 6 to Ash Wednesday which marks the start of Lent), king cake is full of symbolism, though it’s not considered a religious food.

While the plastic baby that’s baked inside the cake represents the baby Jesus, these days, whoever finds the baby is said to have a year full of luck and good fortune ahead of them – and they bring the king cake to the next party. Each king cakes serves about 15-18 people.

“The ring shape symbolizes unity, like the holy trinity,” Rousse says. The colors of the sugar on top are also symbolic: purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power.

Though a few dozen bakeries make king cake, Rousse says that only a handful are well-known for it. Gambino’s sells king cake year-round at shops in Metairie, Baton Rouge and Lafayette, as well as by mail (which is about half of its business).

Traditional king cake is great, but rules are meant to be broken – especially in this food-and-fun-loving town. Creative restaurants, bakeries and other eateries in New Orleans have taken this local favorite and run with it.

These days, you’ll find king cake turned into ice cream, scones, doughnuts, burger buns, cocktails and more. Here are 10 of the most unique and delicious takes on the seasonal specialty.

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