Must-Go to Bakeries to Get the Best King Cake for the Mardi Gras Season
CindyOne of the quintessential holidays of the South is Mardi Gras, and it is a big celebration in New Orleans. People from all other states would come and celebrate since it is a phenomenal experience. What better way to celebrate Mardi Gras than a trip to New Orleans? Mardi Gras in New Orleans is loud, raucous, but most of all, filled with a delicious taste of sweet, festive king cake.
King Cake can be the pinnacle of your New Orleans Mardi Gras experience, if you can figure out where to find the good stuff. Even better, you can take your friends and families down to New Orleans to do a lot of fun things while eating king cakes. So, let’s embark on a flavor journey and highlight the best places to try king cake in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Where to Buy the Best King Cake?
Trifecta of King Cake at Brennan’s
Brennan’s offers a rich and special selection of king cakes. Rather than just a traditional offering, they provide a terrific trifecta of king cake. The Traditional king cake comes in the classic Mardi Gras colors purple, green, and gold. Still, they offer more than the traditional ones. They have the Pink Parade, a hot pink cake filled with strawberry cream cheese. A unique king cake that is so bold and bright will be a great picture on Instagram. They also have Bananas Foster, the special flavor exclusively offered for 2023. Since it is new, you don’t want to miss out on it.
Get Creative at Bywater Bakery
Opened in 2017, Bywater Bakery is a relative newcomer to the New Orleans king cake scene, among many historical bakeries. However, Bywater Bakery hosts a broad menu of delicious and unique king cake options that are highly popular. Their king cakes come in traditional flavors and creative ones, such as the Azul Dulce Blueberry King Cake, which is filled with stovetop-cooked locally-made blueberry jam, and the Crawfish King Cake, stuffed with crawfish! If you want to taste some creative king cakes, Bywater Bakery is the place to go.
Coveted Caramel King Cake at Not Too Fancy Bakery
One of the highlights of New Orleans king cake is the Salted Caramel and Candied Pecan King Cake from Not Too Fancy Bakery, which has the locals in its clutches! It features the delicious salted caramel drizzle and small chunks of candied pecan. It is clear why this king cake choice is so well-loved. In addition to their most popular offering, Not Too Fancy Bakery also have varieties of traditional and strawberry cream cheese king cake.
Stick to the Classics with La Boulangerie
La Boulangerie is known for its delicious pastries and classic king cakes. They serve a traditional New Orleans king cake with cinnamon, chocolate almond, and strawberry flavors. In addition to the classic New Orleans-style king cake, they offer a quintessential French king cake or galette des rois. Both choices for king cake in New Orleans are highly rated, so you can’t go wrong with one of each!
Fun Fillings from Gambino’s Bakery
You don’t want to miss out and the fun and delicious fillings from Gambino’s Bakery. Gambino’s king cakes come with the usual classic purple, green, and gold colorings, with the option to decorate your king cake yourself with a fun icing and decorating sugar kit. These fillings are highly recommended by the community: strawberry and cream cheese, chocolate cream cheese, almond wedding cake, fig, apple, and strawberry.
Consider Some Ice Cream from Rahm Haus
Rahm Haus is an unusual ice cream shop since it sells unique flavors to its customers. Even more surprising is that it sells king cakes during Mardi Gras season. Rahm Haus wants to give people magical and unique flavors that you can’t find anywhere else. It offers a Strawberry & Whipped Cream Cheese Panna Cotta Chantilly that is out of this world. If you don’t want cake, you can go for the King Cake flavor ice cream.
Fruit and Vegan-Friendly from Passion Flour
For a slightly healthier take on king cake, Passion Flour Baked Goods has some tasty fruity varieties of king cake available for pickup in New Orleans. Their flavors are elevated and diverse, such as Blackberry Nutmeg Sweet Cream and Passion Fruit Honey Sweet Cream king cakes. They even have a vegan option for vegans and vegetarians who want to enjoy some king cake for the Mardi Gras season!
The One and Only Dong Phuong
Saving the best for last, the most well-known bakery for its award-winning King Cake is Dong Phuong. People tend to save up their money for this exquisite and only king cake for the Mardi Gras season! The reason for the hype and popularity is that their King Cake is like no other due to it being light, not-so-sweet, flaky, and moist. All the ingredients for the King Cake are fresh and high quality.
Time to Eat and Celebrate
From traditional to out-of-the-box, there is no shortage of king cake in New Orleans to get your fill. Each of these selections is loved by locals and created in the spirit of the holiday. So, which New Orleans king cake will you try to elevate your Mardis Gras celebrations this year?
If you choose from this list, you really can’t go wrong!
She started her blog, The Money Dreamer, when she realized the 9-5 job was not the lifestyle she wanted anymore. After designing for a while, she wanted a more meaningful life, which was freedom, so she decided to venture out. She took action so that she can live her dream life and decided to help people to live theirs by helping them how to save, budget, and invest.
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