King & Queen Cakes in New Orleans, LA | Antoine's Famous Cakes (2024)

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King & Queen Cakes in New Orleans, LA | Antoine's Famous Cakes? ›

Today, Haydel's is among the most popular choices for a classic king cake, with recipes deeply rooted in New Orleans tradition. The cake is made of Danish dough that's hand-braided with cinnamon and sugar and topped with fondant icing along with purple, green, and gold sugar.

Today, Haydel's is among the most popular choices for a classic king cake, with recipes deeply rooted in New Orleans tradition. The cake is made of Danish dough that's hand-braided with cinnamon and sugar and topped with fondant icing along with purple, green, and gold sugar.

The name “king cake” comes from the Biblical story of the three kings who bring gifts to Baby Jesus. A blend of coffee cake and cinnamon roll, king cake is usually iced in yellow, green and purple – the colors of Mardi Gras -- and is frequently packed with fruit fillings and decadent cream cheeses.

The bakery is called Antoine's and their confectionery concoction is called the Queen Cake. The Queen Cake is a tribute to excess. It is a revved up King Cake that offers a variety of flavors that have become so popular in the King Cake universe. Greg Antoine showed us just how this something for everyone is prepared.

Something like king cake is available year round, but those faithful to New Orleans tradition know it only has its cultural significance during Carnival season. That season will fly by this year, between the kick off on Jan. 6 and Fat Tuesday bringing down the curtain on Feb. 13.

Metairie – Manny Randazzo's

The best king cake in Louisiana is Manny Randazzo's, hands-down. Manny's is a small bakery in Metairie, but offers the biggest flavors for your buck! Manny Randazzo's has been doing king cakes the right way for 53 years, using the same family recipe.

The Queen cake includes apple, cream cheese, strawberry and bavarian cream filling. It is beautiful to look at and even better to eat! Because every Queen needs to feed a crowd The Queen Cake is only available in sizes Large or Ex Large.

Remember, finding the baby inside the king cake not only makes you a “king,” but it also comes with some responsibilities. If you are so fortunate to find the baby in your slice of cake, you will be responsible for hosting the next Mardi Gras celebration and providing the next king cake!

Most king cakes are traditionally decorated in royal colors of purple, which signifies “justice,” green for “growth,” and gold meaning “prosperity and wealth.” These colors can be seen as chosen to resemble a jeweled crown honoring the three wise men and their gifts during the visit of the Christ Child on Epiphany.

Why is king cake so expensive? ›

Why is king cake so expensive? Kings cake is meant to be rich and filled with butter, eggs, sugar, spices, fruits and nuts.

▪ The Millionaire king cake at the Palace Casino bakery has to be one of the most decadent ever, swirled chocolate and caramel, smothered in pecans and filled with a choice of cream cheese or Bavarian cream. It's one of 12 flavors in two sizes that can be found at Palace Cafe and Bakery.

A plastic baby, representing Jesus, is hidden inside the cake, which for some is said to bring good luck. But it also comes with responsibility. The person who gets the baby in their piece of king cake becomes the king and as such must provide the next king cake for all to enjoy.

King cake season winds down around February 28th, the last day of the month, because that is when Mardi Gras ends. This is also why king cakes are colored green, purple, and gold: to symbolize the colors of Mardi Gras. However, king cakes in New Orleans tend to start disappearing around Fat Tuesday.

King cake is eaten on January 6 in honor of Epiphany, or Twelfth Night, which historically marks the arrival of the three wise men/kings in Bethlehem who delivered gifts to the baby Jesus. (The plastic baby hidden inside king cakes today is a nod to this story.)

Is King Cake a dessert or a breakfast pastry? Yes. It is also a course for any meal eaten during Mardi Gras. It can be served for Elevenses, that late morning snack that holds you over for lunch.

With 9,786 votes in the final round, Ayu Bakehouse in the Marigny has been dubbed the winner. Loretta's Authentic Pralines was the runner-up, with 5,543 votes.

Manny is a second generation baker learning his baking skills and the secret formula of the Randazzo Family's recipe for their famous king cakes from his Father, Manuel Randazzo Sr. In 1965 Manuel Sr., along with his father and brothers, opened the renowned Randazzo's HiLan Bakery in Chalmette, Louisiana.

The cinnamon sugar-filled version is traditional, but the cream cheese-filled option is our personal favorite. Luckily, the recipe is big enough that it actually makes TWO King Cakes, so you can have one of each!