TO BE A Baker's Dozen of King Cake Bakeries

By Emily Hingle

season year long. apple filling so that you can get a sampling of excellent flavors all in one. You can really taste the entire history of king cakes with every bite of a Randazzo's king cake.

4. Debbie Does Doberge at Bakery Bar

1179 Annunciation St. (504) 210-8519, debbiedoesdoberge.com

There's something so heavenly about a melt-in-your-mouth, painstakingly-crafted cake. The delicate confection is made from thin layers of cake alternated with rich layers of pudding to make for an ooey-gooey sweet treat. Debbie Does Doberge proudly combined the traditional doberge cake with the seasonal king cake to create something entirely new. And you can pick one up at Bakery Bar by the cake or by the slice. Those not in NOLA can have one shipped nationally via Goldbelly

Debbie Does Doberge has two tantalizing options for you: the cream cheese king cake doberge, which is seven layers of cinnamon cake holding six layers of cream cheese pudding and are then covered in cream cheese-poured fondant dusted in purple, green, and gold, and the Café Brulot king cake, which is an homage to the fiery Café Brulot ritual at locals’ restaurants and is a cinnamon cake that is layered with Café

Brulot pudding and then finished with cream cheese icing, coffee buttercream, dehydrated orange slices, and cinnamon cake crunch.

5. Sucre

3025 Magazine St. (504) 571-5323, shopsucre.com

Sucre is a quaint confectionary located along busy Magazine Street, and they specialize in everything that can be made with sugar and edible glitter. For the carnival season, Sucre releases king cakes that have a slightly more cake-like bread topped with beautiful white icing and glittering colored sugar. It's one of the prettiest king cakes you will ever see, and they're always bakery-fresh.

Sucre is happy to share their king cakes and other confections with the entire country. They offer nationwide shipping so that you can send some Mardi Gras joy to your loved ones.

6. Caluda's Bakery

1536 River Oaks Road West (504) 218-5655, kingcakeshop.com

Caluda's is happy to feed your king cake fix, year-round (even though some say you shouldn't eat king cake outside of carnival season). They can also ship king cakes across the country through their online

B o o k

• REHEARSAL DINNERS

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For event inquiries contact events@annunciationrestaurant.com

DINE-IN & TAKE OUT THURSD AY– SUND AY 5

101 6 A nnunciation St New Orleans, LA 70130 www.annunciationre staurant.com ordering system. This Harahan-based bakery is headed by Chef John Caluda and is also known for the crawfish strudel dish found at area festivals. Clearly, he's open to making non-traditional food that people can't get anywhere else.

In addition to the traditional king cake, with or without icing, you can opt for a cream cheese-filled king cake or a delicious praline cream cheese-filled king cake. Have you ever had a strawberry-filled king cake? This might be the year.

7. Joe Gambino's Bakery

4821 Veterans Memorial Blvd. (504) 885-7500, gambinos.com

Joe Gambino's Bakery is the go-to luxury bakery for people wanting a classic doberge cake, especially the half-lemon/half-chocolate kind. But their king cakes also bring customers in when it's the right time of year. Gambino's happily serves king cake year round, however traditionalists will wait for carnival season.

Gambino's has a basic king cake, but you can choose to have no filling, one filling, or two fillings. Praline, strawberry, or chocolate goes great with cream cheese. The fig filling and almond wedding cake filling are showstoppers.

8. Gracious Bakery

Multiple Locations, graciousbakery.com

There are three locations of Gracious Bakery ready to serve you something truly unique: Uptown (4930 Prytania St.), Garden District (2854 St. Charles Ave.), and Mid-City (1000 Norman Francis Pkwy.). The locals love Gracious Bakery's king cakes, or, perhaps galette des rois is more fitting, because these cakes are made in a very old style. A flakey puff pastry is filled with smooth almond cream. This special king cake comes with porcelain fève instead of a plastic baby.

If you want to reserve your king cake in advance (which is advised because they can sell out), you need to have your order in 48 hours before your pick up time.

9. Antoine's Famous Cakes & Pastries

1300 Stumpf Blvd. (504) 368-6222, antoinesfamouscakes.com

While there is a Metairie location, the Gretna location of Antoine's Famous Cakes is always packed during carnival, though the bakery can make their cakes year-round and ship them throughout the U.S., Antoine's didn't just get famous for their king cakes. They're well-known for their queen cakes, which are fit for royalty.

The signature queen cake has five flavors in one cake; each flavor has its own section. You can take a bite of apple, cream cheese, lemon, pineapple, or strawberry filling. Adventurous eaters like to stack the flavors for one very interesting mouthful.

10. Bittersweet Confections

725 Magazine St. (504) 523-2626, bittersweetconfections.com

Bittersweet Confections is more than a bakery. They've got a full breakfast menu, a great lunch menu, and custom cakes for all occasions. When Mardi Gras rolls around, the king cakes are the most popular item. Bittersweet Confections is particularly proud of their chocolate king cake that has chocolate on the inside and chocolate icing on the outside.

If you don't like regular king cake, you can still enjoy the season with a typical cake that has been beautifully decorated with Mardi Gras colors. It will be so tasty that no one will lodge a complaint about it not being traditional.

11. Hi-Do Bakery

439 Terry Pkwy. (504) 366-6555, facebook.com/hidobakery

New Orleans natives will often say that Hi-Do Bakery's traditional king cake is reminiscent of McKenzie's king cakes. It's simple and sweet, and that's all you really need. Hi-Do Bakery has also been known to make singleserving croissant versions of their popular king cake. Those would be great for an office gift so that you can skip cutting one large cake into slices.

Maybe what makes Hi-Do's king cakes so good is that the founder Mr. Ha Do immigrated to the U.S. and eventually settled in New Orleans. He asked his customers exactly what they wanted, and he made his confections and pastries to their liking.

12. Tartine, 7217 Perrier St. (504) 866-4860, tartineneworleans.com

Tartine may only serve one style of traditional king cake, but it is so tasty that it can easily sell out. The hidden gem café serves breakfast, lunch, and coffee in the Black Pearl neighborhood, and they serve king cakes during carnival season that have turned into a hot commodity.

This king cake starts with a buttery brioche bread that is filled with cinnamon cream cheese and glazed with icing and sugar in purple, green, and gold. You’ll have to stop by the café to grab a slice or pre-order a king cake to understand why this singular king cake has been racking up awards and causing a stir lately.

LAGNIAPPE

Breads on Oak 8640 Oak St. (504) 324-8271, breadsonoak.com

Some years ago, Breads on Oak decided to totally go vegan with everything that they make. That’s part of the reason that Breads on Oak’s king cakes are in such high demand that they can sell out. The other part of the reason is that these king cakes are simply delicious.

You can get a traditional non-filled king cake, but the flavored ones are just too good to pass up. Bavarian cream, cream cheese, strawberry cream cheese, and even a rich almond cream are your options for an amazing vegan king cake. Just to make their king cakes stand out from the rest, Breads on Oak provides an almond to hide instead of a plastic baby.

THE MOST POPULAR KING CAKE BAKERIES IN

If you can't find your favorite king cake at one of these bakeries, then you may not be a big fan of king cake. There's a reason that these places are always packed during Mardi Gras; they love making king cakes, and they put their own spin on this local treat so that they can stand out among the crowd. They are all a part of the amazing history of king cakes and will be for years to come.