The intoxicating aroma of sweet vanilla overtaking Take-Away Donuts in Boutte means only one thing in Louisiana – it’s Mardi Gras time.
Rolling and twisting, Owner Raj Jain has been stretching and twisting donut dough balls into king cakes as part of their version of an assembly line. Jain drops two braided rounds of dough on a steel tray. They’re picked up and dropped into a large deep fryer for a little over two minutes and then are quickly iced.
From there, they are carried over to Jain’s wife, who has three cups filled with the kind of colored sugar fit for royalty – purple, gold and green. If she’s doing a special order, she might fill the cake with something scrumptious like Bavarian cream and then bedazzle the cake with colored sprinkles.
The team can average 100 cakes a day depending on demand – and right now demand is good.
This cake isn’t only a highly sought creation, it’s an icon.
When Mardi Gras comes, people want the cake and as many as they can get based on those who make and sell them. Sales are growing, especially with this year’s holiday coming as early as Feb. 9, bringing with it Lent, which means the predominately Catholic Louisianans follow the biggest celebration on earth with the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.
What started out roughly about 300 years ago as dry French bread-type dough with sugar on top and a bean inside has gained stature and insanely luscious diversity.
At Majoria’s Supermarket, Dana Majoria, who owns the store with his brothers, said they’ve been selling the cakes for about 25 years.
Their bakers, Maria Williams and Brenda Breaux, will stay busy making them until Mardi Gras and then they are gone until the next season.
In the meantime, the cakes baked with gourmet cinnamon dough, producing a moist texture, are flying out the door.
“We bake about 20 to 30 cakes a day,” Majoria said of the classic cake selling for $9.99 and the cream-filled ones for $11.99. “We sell out everyday.”
The freshness makes them special, he added. They’re also priced competitively.
While they experimented with selling the cakes during other times of the year, it did not go well. Majoria said people like king cakes for Mardi Gras, which he equates to customers keeping them special for a special time of year.
At The Basketry in Luling, the cake is king.
It’s featured in “King Cake gift baskets,” said store founder Kristi Brocato. Local bakeries also have been invited to provide the cakes. The cake is surrounded by items that embellish the tasty experience like coffee, a king cake platter and serving knife, as well as can include beads and masks.
Their online store lets customers tailor baskets to fit the client, event or pocketbook, which Brocato said makes the sweet gift “more than just a king cake, it’s the celebration.” Parents also have been ordering baskets as a care package for their children in college, as well as businesses sharing them with fellow businesses as a gift.
A special new addition to this year’s selections is Abita’s King Cake soda. Brocato said they ship baskets and the farthest order sent went to Americans in China as a business gift.
At Two Sisters Bakery in Boutte, deluxe king cakes honor the big parades like Rex, Zulu and Bacchus. They are filled with raspberry and cream cheese, coconut or Chocolate Ganache’. They are topped with tantalizing specialties like Ganache’ or apricot glaze.
At Courtney’s Unique Boutique, employee Nicole Trahan said king cake sales are “going good and strong.”
They’re selling Caluda’s King Cakes with the top seller being “Maple Bacon Pecan,” but closing following is “Banana Foster,” as part of what Caluda calls his “flavor of the week.”
Caluda’s classic cakes include praline, strawberry cream cheese, praline cream cheese and the classic cake. The store takes special orders for the cakes, which range in price from $17.95 to $22.95, and ships them.
Trahan said the cakes are awesome and flying out the store door at about 20 a day and growing as Mardi Gras gets closer.
It’s also a special time for the store, which owner Judy Sapir said will celebrate its 25th year in business on March 4.
“We want to thank the community for supporting us,” Sapir said. “2016 will be year of many changes we can’t wait for everyone to see.”
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