By Sofia Partesotti
Photo by Sofia Partesotti
Every Mardi Gras season, king cakes show up everywhere around New Orleans. According to mardigrasneworleans.com, hundreds of thousands are sold here each Mardi Gras season. With so many options, finding the best brand is a large debate.
Many Willow freshmen like different brands for various reasons. For example, some students prefer a nostalgic or childhood king cake, while others focus more on grown-up criteria like textures and flavors.
Some famous brands include Gambino’s, Randazzo’s, McKenzie’s, Dong Phuong, and Rouse’s. Each bakery has its own style and flavor that makes it special during Mardi Gras season. Some king cakes are known for having more icing, while others focus on soft dough or colorful sprinkles. These bakeries are popular across New Orleans because they offer different textures, sweetness and designs, giving students many options when choosing their favorite king cake.
“My favorite king cake is Dong Phuong’s,” says Elva Taher. “This king cake has a great flavor, and I love how it reminds me of my childhood. It is the only one that I have every year, and it has the perfect amount of sweetness.”
Another freshman Evie Miller said, “My favorite king cake is McKenzie’s. I love the less icing type of king cake because I’m not the biggest fan of icing.” She rated the king cake a 9.5 out of 10 and added that she enjoys how the dough is light and not overly sweet compared to other brands.
One thing students especially love is the balance and ratio of textures, moistness, sprinkles, and flavor. Many students mention that too much icing or overly dry bread can change their opinion of a king cake. The right combination of sweetness and texture often makes the biggest difference.
“The Randazzo’s king cake is different from other king cakes because they use a different type of sprinkles, and the icing to cake ratio is good,” says Mathilda Sullivan. She rated the king cake a 10 out of 10 and explained that the icing and sprinkles help make the cake stand out from others she has tried.
Some notice that texture plays a big role when choosing the best king cake. Some prefer lighter dough, while others like a more moist cake that feels more filling.
“The texture of the king cake from Gambino’s is different because they tend to be more moist than other king cakes, which, in my opinion, tastes better,” said Max Braunig. “I like the ratio of cake to icing, and the density of the cake is perfect in my opinion.”