Where, oh where can a girl get a King Cake?

[peach]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 3:46pm

Mardis Gras is coming, and I need a good King Cake! I'm not much of a baker, so I'd rather just get an authentic one shipped...

Any recommendations as to which bakeries in New Orleans (or elsewhere in LA) make good ones and will ship? I found a couple of options searching online, but if you have a personal recommendation, I'd love to hear it.

Merci!

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 3:50pm

Haydel's ships UPS. Stick with the classic and avoid the frou-frou fillings.

http://www.haydelbakery.com/cakes.htm

[Garland Grrrl]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 3:53pm

the best is the ambrosia bakery in baton rouge. they ship in a fabulous decorative container, too. all flavors are great, but the ZULU is a killer.

Ambrosia Bakery

Updated On: 2/5/07 at 03:53 PM

[blueroses]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 3:55pm

I had never heard of a King Cake before!

[peach]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 4:03pm

Thanks for the recommendations.

That Zulu one looks like a PMS dream!

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 4:14pm

De rien!

Laissez les bons temps rollez.....

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 4:18pm

Wouldn't a filling defeat the purpose? Isn't that what the baby is for?

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 4:21pm

Well, I'm a purist when it comes to King Cakes, so I wouldn't use a filling for any reason. But, yes, unsuspecting guests should also be warned about the hidden baby.

[lildogs]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 4:22pm

I like the frou-frou fillings--otherwise it can be a really dry cake....I guess I could make my own, it's really just a strudel...with gay pride icing....

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 4:26pm

Is that the one with the plastic baby in it and if you get the baby....you're special or something?

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 4:31pm

I make my own, so it's warm and moist when I serve it and I use lots of sugar & cinnamon inside. But you're right - it's more of a strudel or brioche consistancy.

Borstal - if you get the baby and don't swallow it and choke to death, you're king/queen of the mardi Gras. We Acadians have a warped sense of fun. In some places it also means that you host the next Mardi Gras party.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 4:46pm

Like every single other New Orleans specialty, the King Cake is ridiculously overrated. Personally, I think they taste like 99 cent cinnamon rolls without the cinnamon.

Instead of one of those tasteless, puffy king Cakes, order yourself a Kringle from the O&H Bakery in Racine Wisconsin and stick a little naked plastic baby in it. If anyone realizes it's not an actual King Cake they will be too busy raving about it's deliciousness to complain!
The O & H Danish Bakery

[peach]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 4:52pm

JoeKv99, you are funny!

They do tend to be a bit dry. The last time I had one it was baked up fresh and nice, so it was moist and cinnamon-y. I always thought of King Cake as sort of a coffee cake, so yes a little on the drier side. I like it with a strong mug of coffee to wash it down. Just have to watch out for the creepy little plastic baby.

My husband says we should just buy Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and color up the icing all Mardi-Gras like...might be tasty!

[lildogs]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 5:41pm

King Cake is just like any other pastry--a good bakeshop will make a good one, a poor one will not. Just don't expect to find a good one at Albertson's--use common sense, which is, as it happens, not so common.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/6/07 at 3:12am

Like every single other New Orleans specialty, the King Cake is ridiculously overrated.

Someone sounds angry about New Orleans.

[chicolini]

Posted: 2/6/07 at 11:34am

King Arthur Flour is selling a King Cake Mix, for the do-it-yourself types. It's backordered until 2/13, but they are pretty quick with their shipping.


Nothing says New Orleans like a mix from Vermont

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/6/07 at 12:33pm

"Someone sounds angry about New Orleans. "

No, just New Orleans food. I love food and I love to eat. I had heard all about how New Orleans was THE place for great food. What a disappointment! Everything tastes the same, and usually way over seasoned. The holy Triumverate of New Orleans cooking is Garlic Powder, Seasoning salt and tabasco. Bah.

[peach]

Posted: 2/6/07 at 1:11pm

Joekv99 - really? I found some wonderful restaurants in New Orleans.

But some that were "supposed" to be wonderful - were highly overrated. And that irritated me!

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/6/07 at 1:25pm

New Orleans has a distinctive taste, so I guess you either like it or you don't. I find most of the best New Orleans food don't come from big name restaurants, but the smaller ones. Nothing beats having it homemade with someone who knows what they're doing, though.

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 2/6/07 at 1:27pm

peach, I agree.

I used to visit New Orleans at least a couple of times a year, and I found that many of the overly touted restautants were very disappointing. Especially many found in the French Quarter.

Regarding King Cakes. The first time I tried to find a King Cake in Chicago, one bakery displyed their notion of it....a birthday cake decorated with purple, green and gold with a crown placed on top of it. I gagged.

But Chicago wised up, now I get my King Cakes at Dinkels. The only problem being that they only make King Cakes during the Mardi Gras weekend. If I need one beforehand, I ask for an unglazed circular coffee cake, and I place the baby in it myself (you can find them at most party stores), then I decorate the cake with purple, green and yellow sprinkles.

Dinkel's cream cheese filled coffee cake is to DIE!

You can always order a King Cake from:

http://www.kingkingcakes.com/
Updated On: 2/6/07 at 01:27 PM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/6/07 at 1:27pm

Wow, those Kringles look amazing. I just entered the weekly Kringle contest.

I always associate New Orleans with Emeril (who I detest).

[lildogs]

Posted: 2/6/07 at 1:27pm

While I can understand why you'd think that, I'd also like to know where you went....

I'd find it hard to believe Galatoire's would be on that list...

But many places are interchangable, true.

Cajun food tends to be a little "muddy:' it's a cuisine based on odds and ends--people using a wide variety of ingredients in a wide variety of styles--i mean how many definitive gumbo recipes are there?

I think it's an easy cuisine to mess up, unlike Mexican or Italian.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/6/07 at 1:44pm

I always associate New Orleans with Emeril (who I detest).

Most people associate New Orleans with poor black people, so that's a change of pace.

Updated On: 2/6/07 at 01:44 PM

[lildogs]

Posted: 2/6/07 at 1:51pm

Hm.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/6/07 at 1:54pm

It was a joke.