While some people are king cake traditionalists, other want theirs filled up with delicious goodness. Some people prefer Gambino’s Bakery or Manny Randazzo’s, others don’t mind taking home a Walmart king cake and eating it on the couch. Some people even dare to, as scary as it may sound, not like king cake at all.
For all the king cake lovers and haters alike, here are some of our king cake opinions and traditions.
Claire Theriot:
“The best King Cake is from Gambino’s Bakery. Being raised by New Orleans natives in Virginia, my parents knew that our family should never skip a good king cake during Mardi Gras. They went as far as to ship their favorite bakery’s king cake to Virginia every year. Although it doesn’t taste as fresh and it doesn’t come already decorated, it was fun to ice the cake and add the sprinkles with my family. It’s been a tradition in my family to eat king cake every day for breakfast until it’s gone. Now that I’m in college in Louisiana, it’s much easier for me to have king cake during Mardi Gras season. I made sure to get Gambino’s because, in my opinion, the grocery store king cakes taste dry, and of course, I ate it for breakfast. There is something so special about the flavor of Gambino’s king cake. It’s super moist, while not being too overwhelming. It’s sweet, but not enough to give you a toothache. I also genuinely think they make their cakes with love and that is the key reason why it tastes so good. My favorite flavor is cream cheese, but you can never go wrong with the original as well. I think anyone, native of Louisiana or not, needs to try Gambino’s king cake in their life.”
Torey Bovie:
“If you’re anything like me, then you take your king cake options very seriously. My favorite king cake place is Manny Randazzo’s in Metairie. Sorry to my Baton Rouge natives, but Randazzo’s has yet to be beat by my standards. With their cake-like dough and amazing icing, It will be well worth the money. They also have several different fillings. However, one obviously stands out above the rest: apple. If you don’t like apple filling, please seek help. But Randazzo’s offers a number of options including strawberry, cream cheese and pecan praline. So if you plan on traveling to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, make sure you stop by and thank me later.”
Aris Williams:
“I personally believe in filled king cake supremacy. King cakes have a very dry texture, and the filling options provide a bit of balance. It should be a fruit-based filling though; filling a king cake with cream cheese is just crazy. However, what is most important is where you are purchasing your king cake from. Rule number one: King cakes should be purchased from local bakeries, and not grocery chains. Walmart and Rouses just want to garner a profit from the Mardi Gras festivities. There is no heart in those mass-produced king cakes being pumped out of a factory. The baker at your local Gambino’s took their time with each king cake and made them all completely from scratch. As a Louisiana native, I firmly believe that you can taste the difference. And yes, you do have to buy the king cake next year if you get the slice with the plastic baby in it. Now that I think about it, that tradition is definitely a choking hazard. Not exactly sure how it became a thing. My advice is to chew slowly.”
Cate Emma Warren:
“My first time having king cake was in the dining hall two weeks ago. I know that sounds wild, but I swear it’s true. Coming from Texas, I knew what king cake was, they even sell them in some grocery stores, but I had never had a real reason to try it. Being here in Louisiana I’ve come to realize Mardi Gras is on a whole different level than what I expected. The moment after I had that first bite of king cake from The 5, I thought maybe king cake just was not for me. The next time I had it was when it was filled with cream cheese. After that, my faith in the tradition was restored. So far cream cheese is by far my favorite. That is probably also because I am a very passionate fan of cheesecake.”
Camille Milligan:
“Even though I have grown up in Baton Rouge trying different kinds of king cake my whole life, I have never acquired a taste for it. More often than not, it tastes like a less flavorful, slightly stale cinnamon roll with way too much icing. I also feel very strongly that most fillings (especially cream cheese) clash with the cinnamon and give the cake an undesirable, soggy texture. And although the best piece I have ever had was filled with chocolate and drizzled with caramel, I am not convinced it actually qualified as king cake at that point. Despite my critiques, I love the cake’s vibrant colors, nostalgic smell and suspenseful gamble of who will end up with the baby.”
Tilly Sipp:
“As a native New Yorker with a born-and-raised Louisiana momma who often missed home, of course I grew up with king cake during Mardi Gras. During high school, my mom would always insist on ordering some king cakes for my French class(that I was on the brink of failing). Those king cakes were my saving grace. When I brought them to class on Fat Tuesday, I was no longer the girl failing French, I was just the girl with the king cake hook up. I’ve always loved traditional king cakes for breakfast, but I’m not one to turn down some cream cheese filling with chocolate chips. It turns out that not as many New Yorkers like king cake. Once I made one for my girl scout troop and gave a presentation about Mardi Gras, beaming with pride. When all those little Staten Island girls bit into the cake, they complained it was too sweet to eat. I cried in the car ride home. Now that I’m back to my mom’s home state and enjoying king cake on the regular, I can say it was completely their loss.”
Emily Bracher:
“I was around 13 or 14 the first time I had king cake. My neighbors had just moved to Florida from Baton Rouge and invited us over to make it with them. Years later, I can still see the green, yellow and purple sprinkles on top of the sweet homemade treat. In all honestly, I was not quite sold on them at first because I had never really been a fan of that cinnamon roll taste. It wasn’t until my freshman year in college here at LSU when some of the parents of the girls in my sorority brought us dozens and dozens of king cakes. I don’t know if it was the years in between or just a change in taste, but I could not get enough of them. Now after waiting for the season to come, king cakes are finally here and I could not be more excited. I am not usually a picky eater, but I’d rather have an unfilled king cake than a filled one. Sorry Aris.”
