The big mystery once the king cake is set on the table is who will get the baby and have to buy the next king cake. But there’s another mystery that looms over New Orleans come Mardi Gras season – who is the king of king cakes?
King cakes are just as important to Mardi Gras as beads, port-a-potties and Bud Light. It seems every bakery and grocery store in the city comes out with its own version of the Mardi Gras classic. But which one is the best?
The editorial board (and some hungry staff writers) here at The Maroon took on the roles of food critics last week and put some old favorites and some new recipes to the test to find out who is the best of the best when it comes to king cakes.
We rated them on a scale of one to five, five being the highest quality on the following criteria: moistness, icing, attractiveness, texture, price and overall “goodness.” Here’s how we thought they stacked up.
Don’t try this at home. Remember, we are king cake-eating professionals. Excessive king cake-eating can lead to instant regret.
O’Delice French Bakery6033 Magazine St.
This relatively new bakery on Magazine Street has great pastries and cookies, but their king cake is a very interesting take on the old classic that ends up tasting like a cross between those cinnamon twists from Taco Bell and a cinnamon donut. It was much drier than the other king cakes we tested, but it had much more cinnamon, giving it a little more flavor. If you like a cinnamon-y king cake, you’ll enjoy this one if you can get past the drier consistency and flakier outside. It was a good cake, but the major overall drawback was the price. A small cake costs $18. Though it was the most expensive, it was also the most physically attractive and most appetizing-looking cake that we bought. The overall rating on this cake from the taste testers was a 3.4.
Haydel’s Bakery4037 Jefferson Hwy.
For three generations, Haydel’s Bakery has been one of the largest and most well-known bakeries in New Orleans, so when it comes to awesome king cakes, they know how to do it. Their cake is more of the traditional type of king cake that New Orleanians know and love. When you walk in the bakery, you realize that this isn’t just a bakery -it’s a well-oiled machine. It took about one minute to get our medium no-filling king cake, but that whole 60 seconds was well-worth it. It was very moist on the inside and had more of a dough-like texture. There wasn’t too much icing and the sugar on top was the perfect amount. The cinnamon is minimal, but a lot of people like their king cake with just a touch of cinnamon, so for them, this cake is perfect. The overall rating on this cake from our “experts” was a 4.
McKenzie’s (at Tastee Donuts)2201 Veterans Blvd.
OK, if you’re not from here, there’s something you need to know. McKenzie’s king cakes used to be the best around back in the day. But then they were shut down because of health violations and money problems. Locals even joke about cockroaches being in the cake batter. If there was, it didn’t matter because everyone still loved their king cakes regardless. After they were shut down, Tastee Donuts bought the recipe and began selling the signature McKenzie’s out of their stores. Too bad Tastee Donuts didn’t get it right. First of all, all the sugar just fell off the cake. But it shouldn’t be called cake, it should be called king hot dog bun. It was dry, it was plain and there was no cinnamon whatsoever. It was honestly like a stale hotdog bun with sugar on top. Would cockroaches have made it taste better? Sorry all you McKenzie’s lovers. It will never be the same. The overall rating was a 2.4.
Manny Randazzo’s
3515 N. Hullen St.
In New Orleans, Randazzo’s is a household name. Some locals have never tasted another king cake in their lives simply because they firmly believe there is nothing better out there. Randazzo’s, like Haydel’s, is a well-oiled machine. It took all of 30 seconds to get the cake, but this is a rarity as it gets closer to Mardi Gras. Early in the morning is the best time to go, according to locals. The cake itself is moist to perfection and is covered with a plethora of white, sugary icing and covered in green, purple and yellow sprinkles. The cinnamon is gooey and blends well with the cake. As the local favorite, we have to agree this is one of the best we tasted. Plus it was reasonably priced at around $12, and many New Orleanians would threaten to sue us of we didn’t say it was the best. It wasn’t our highest rated, but the famous Randazzo’s received a 3.8.
Gambino’s Bakery4821 Veterans Blvd.
Gambino’s was a bakery we almost forgot about because it is a little further out in Metairie, but it was well worth the trip. Gambino’s is a smaller bakery on Veteran’s Boulevard that has more king cakes than they know what to do with. But with the constant flow of people taking up to eight king cakes at a time (seriously, one lady took eight), they’ll have no problem selling them. The cake itself, from the outside, is not the most attractive of them all, just because it was a little lopsided. It was really thick on one side and really thin on the other. It looked like a brown purse covered in sugar. But just because it wasn’t the prettiest doesn’t mean it didn’t taste good. It was one of the best we tasted. Moistness, texture and the icing were all perfect. It gives Randazzo’s and Haydel’s a run for its money with our overall rating of 4.2.
Maurice’s French Pastries4951 W. Napoleon Ave.
Originally on Hessmer Avenue behind Lakeside Shopping Center, Maurice’s has moved closer to Kenner off of Clearview Parkway. Don’t be fooled by the modest strip mall exterior. There’s good stuff cooking inside. Maurice’s is mostly known for their extravagant wedding cakes, but their king cake is just as delicious. It has more of a French bread taste and texture to it than the other cakes we tested, but it was still good. It was a very different taste that we really liked. It was a very pretty cake and the icing was one of the best we tried. This king cake was one of the fanciest we tasted, because it was almost perfect in shape and had a more sophisticated taste. Though it wasn’t the favorite, we thought it was still pretty tasty, giving it an overall rating of 3.7.
Nicole Wroten can be reached at [email protected].
