I love king cake. I would be a disgrace as a Louisianian if I did not love king cake. My addiction started in elementary school when the school would give us children king cake as a reward. Or sometimes it would be a treat during the lunch lineup. I don’t know how smart it is to give 400 children sugary king cake at lunch but I am glad they did.
King cake is not a dish my parents grew up with or even knew about. I had to introduce them to the wonderful world of king cake. They knew of a similar Mexican dish that their friends would give them, Rosca de Reyes. The concepts of both are the same, bread in an oval ring shape with a plastic baby hidden somewhere inside a slice.
But the Mexican version is used after Christmas and whoever wins the baby has to cook food for the next meeting date. Both king cakes and Rosca de Reyes are used on Jan. 6 which is the twelfth night. Mardi Gras has taken king cakes and made them its own thing.
The babies in both cakes represent baby Jesus, and whoever wins baby Jesus is next year’s host for the cakes. I like how in both cakes they have a mysterious plastic baby. I want to know how two separate regions managed to have the same plastic baby in the cake tradition.
The plastic baby is a little questionable because if you don’t look hard enough you might choke on a king cake. It only makes me wonder what people did when the king cake babies used to be made of ceramic.
My next statement is controversial. I like king cake more compared to Rosca de Reyes.
I know, my Hispanic card is revoked. I understand how some may view that as treason, but I have my reasons for liking king cake.
First of all, king cake has more sugar and I happen to still be young enough to like over-sugared things. All the Roscas that I have had seem very fruity and bland. Not saying that they don’t taste good, but king cake takes the lead spot when it comes to taste.
King cake also comes in many flavors, it is almost endless. Fillings and toppings can vary from cream cheese (my personal favorite), to apple, chocolate, banana, Nutella and even bacon.
I have not been brave enough to try the bacon but I have tried all the other fillings and more. And I am never disappointed.
With king cakes, there is an entire world to it. There is almost a battle to be known as the best king cake bakery here in Louisiana. And we can never really boil it down to one single bakery.
This is a yearly debate, some people think it’s Haydel’s because they have the Guinness World record for the world’s largest king cake. Others think it’s Gambino’s because they ship out king cakes all across the United States. I think king cake is king cake. It all tastes amazing.
It also does not help that you cannot enter a Louisiana grocery store without being hit in the face with a king cake shrine at the front of every store. Rouses and Cannatas take their king cake displays very seriously.
A recent phenomenon that I have been seeing is king cake flavored things or weird king cake renditions. I saw a king cake “water” on TikTok which was cinnamon, vanilla and a carbonated drink added to water for it to taste like king cake.
Another video I saw was a crawfish king cake made with boudin, crawfish, cream cheese and biscuit rolls. Some people make brave food choices.
I was also offered a king cake flavored smoothie from Smoothie King. It did taste like king cake but there was a weird aftertaste. The king cake community coffee tastes like there is a bit of cinnamon added to the coffee, that’s it. It is always a hit or miss with king cake flavored things.
King cakes during Mardi Gras season just have a different vibe. Life feels vibrant and magical when you’re downing a slice and are about to head out to a parade. I once got king cake after marching in a six-hour parade and I felt like I ascended to heaven. That is how much king cake means to me.
Along with being insanely delicious, it brings together family and friends. There is a special core memory that is made every year when everyone plays Russian roulette with a peach colored plastic baby. It’s either you want it or you don’t and there is usually no hiding it because everyone is looking to see if you got the baby or not.
Mardi Gras is always a magical time in Louisiana. Sometimes the parades are chaotic but with a slice of king cake and family running around somewhere, it all feels better.