The King Cake Game in New Orleans is being reimagined by These Bakeries

Growing up in New Orleans , Kaitlin Guerin remembers that every Carnival season was sweetened with appearances by King cakes There were plenty of big, cinnamon-lined, glazed pieces of braided brioche. She remarks that it would have been nonsensical to spend more than $20 on a single item at that time. ”

But those delicious confections of Guerin’s youth are nothing like the small-batch, delicately flavored kinds that she sells today. King cakes and their cult followings have helped fuel a revival of neighborhood bakeries across the area, including her own place, Lagniappe Bakehouse, in New Orleans’ Central City. “People really want king cake during Mardi Gras, now more so than ever, ” Guerin says

Reinventing An Iconic Recipe

That became obvious to Kelly Jacques and Samantha Weiss, even before they had settled on their own recipe for Ayu Bakehouse. They opened this spot in the Marigny neighborhood in 2022, just after Matt Haines’ The Big Book of King Cake Was published. Jacques and Weiss had flipped through its pages and realized they had never come up with a wholly unique flavor.  

“What felt more meaningful was asking, ‘When was the last time you got a truly hot king cake out of the oven? ’ ” Jacques says. “Using that mentality, the ingredients became quite simple. ” The result is a laminated dough, much like an oversize croissant, that encases ribbons of raw cane sugar and cinnamon cream cheese. Ayu bakes them throughout the day during Carnival. This approach “created an opportunity where people who hadn’t already come to us but wanted to had an excuse, and then they would spread the word very quickly, ” Jacques says. “It was huge for us. ” Ayu’s king cake became an instant sensation, catapulting the bakery’s reputation in New Orleans. Last year, it even earned a nod from a local news outlet when readers voted it the best in the city

AK ing Cake For Every Week

For Guerin, these treats are part of an overall holiday plan that spans from Thanksgiving through Mardi Gras, which helped her envision expanding Lagniappe from being a pop-up operation to a brick-and-mortar one. But her ambitious strategy calls for two distinct types of king cake. One is a traditional French Galette des Rois, which she makes during the first month of Carnival. It’s a golden puff pastry filled with deftly spiced rosemary frangipane, candied Louisiana citrus, and whiskey-soaked cherries. This combination tastes as elegant as it looks. “I don’t eat my pastries, ” Guerin admits. “That’s the only one where I’ll sit down and eat the entire thing. ” The other kind, sold during the second month, is a sourdough brioche with grains of paradise (a West African spice) and a jam filling. It’s topped with a crisscross of frosting and colored sprinkles, which are where it gets that bit of crunch

Splitting up the offerings makes Guerin’s life a little easier and gives customers a reason to revisit Lagniappe. And that’s kind of the point, as several other New Orleans pastry shops also create unique versions to sell throughout the celebration. “Every bakery has their own contribution to this moment, ” explains Jacques. “Nobody’s going out to buy one king cake for the season. They’re getting one every day—every week. It’s about abundance and variety. ”

Where can IF ind The most delicious New King Cakes In New Orleans?

Lagniappe Bakehouse

Try the Galette des Rois dish in the early part of the season, and the sourdough brioche from the second half

Lagniappebaking. Com ,1825 Euterpe Street

Ayu Bakehouse

Conceive it as a dough with cinnamon and cream cheese filling. By wrapping it with local raw cane sugar, the exterior adds A delightful crunch (as depicted above)

Ayubakehouse. Com ,801 Frenchmen Street

Levee Baking Co

Christina Balzebre’s queen cake is made with pecan frangipane and candied citrus, as stated by the baker. A miniature ceramic moon is placed on top of Each one

Leveebakingco. Com ,3138 Magazine Street

Dough Nguyener’s Bakery

In the town of Gretna, you can find braided brioche with a Vietnamese-coffee filling, which is already well-liked