The New Orleans Mardi Gras king cake is an important part of the city’s cuisine during carnival season. The king cake has become so popular that some bakeries now keep it on the menu throughout the year and ship the cakes to customers all across the country. Haydel’s, Antoine’s and Randazzo’s are three of New Orleans’ most famous king cake bakeries.
King cake is made with sweet, Danish dough and can be enjoyed in a variety of flavors. A small, plastic baby is hidden in each cake, and the person who gets the slice with the baby in it is named king or queen for the day. This person gets to throw the next party and serve more king cake.
Haydel’s Bakery is one of the only bakeries still creating their delicous king cakes completely by hand. The week before Mardi Gras, Haydel’s employees ship 2,000 king cakes a day out of town and sell 2,000 inside the store.
Antoine’s Bakery is a family owned and operated business serving unique flavors of the king cake. Antoine’s is the founder of the Queen Cake which has strawberry, apple, pineapple, lemon and cream cheese filling. The Kringle is another special Antoine’s king cake topped with caramel and pecan.
Randazzo’s Bakery has been around for over 30 years and now has a few locations in the area. Many New Orleans residents rate this bakery’s original king cake as number one in the city. The Randazzo’s family works hard to deliver the best quality king cakes, some days working extra hours to make sure everyone can partake in this New Orleans tradition.
