Smithsonian: So, you don't want to wait until Mardi Gras to devour that traditional king cake?
Along with gumbo and jambalaya, a New Orleans-style Mardi Gras celebration requires a king cake.
Little about the king cake suggests it's made for human pleasure.
What Louisiana lacked in swag it made up for in king cake.
Still, bolo rei (king cake) is probably the most popular treat and you'll see it everywhere.
Most important, each king cake conceals a bite-size figurine, usually of a baby that traditionally represents Jesus.
This year one of the largest krewes, Zulu, has designated an official king cake of its own, filled with coconut.
What supplies go in your Mardi Gras survival kit? A. Water, Band-Aids, Popeyes fried chicken, king cake and vodka.
(A local actor, Lawrence Beron, stars in a series of YouTube videos mocking the competitive excess of king cake bakeries).
And because New Orleans is quickly becoming one of several delicious laboratories for chefs exploring the past and future of Southern food, there are also pastry chefs making playful hybrids of these deep-rooted desserts, like the bananas Foster-flavored king cake at Domenica, king-cake-flavored macarons at Sucré, and the lemon doberge king cake at Cochon Butcher.
Because of the ever-changing nature of the king cake, there is no definitive recipe for it, says Guas.
