For many the New Year marks the start of healthy eating and the end to sweets. But if you’re from Louisiana or are a practicing Catholic, the New Year means cake – King Cake to be specific. With its multicolored icing and surprise baby buried in its filling, Three Brothers Bakery has mastered this traditional Mardi Gras sweet. But if you’re not a cake fan, we offer plenty of other edible confections to help you celebrate this special time of year.
History of the King Cake
The King Cake is believed to have originated in Old World France and Spain. It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that it came to be associated with the Epiphany, or January 6, the night Jesus first showed himself to the three wise men. Once the King Cake was brought to the New World (i.e. North America) along with Catholicism, the tradition evolved even more.
In Louisiana, particularly its largest city, New Orleans, King Cake and Mardi Gras go hand in hand. The cakes are usually available starting in early January and are sold right through to Fat Tuesday (March 5, 2019, this year). The Hispanic community starts the season with the Rosca de Reyes on January 6th.
What does a King cake look like?
At Three Brothers Bakery, our King Cake is an oval shaped sweet that is either cinnamon or cream cheese in flavor. In addition, you can choose from a variety of fruit fillings including blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry. We decorate our cakes in royal icing and with sanding sugar in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of green, gold, and purple representing faith, power, and justice. Like the customary New Orleans King Cakes, ours also has a small plastic baby (representing Jesus) that is hidden by the customer in the cake. As per the tradition, whoever discovers the baby in their slice of cake must buy the next King Cake.
Why are King Cakes from Three Brothers Bakery so good?
Many years back we went to Louisiana during Mardi Gras season and visited 9 bakeries. We brought home King Cakes from all the bakeries. We laid them out and all tasted them and took the best parts of each and came up with our recipe. People do tell us our King Cakes are as good as what you can get in Louisiana. They say our King Cakes evoke a memory when they eat ours, which is quite the compliment for us.
Alternatives to King Cakes
If you’re looking for an alternative to a King Cake, at Three Brothers Bakery we can offer you petit fours, dipped decorated cookies, cheesecakes, and cupcakes iced in the traditional holiday colors. If none of those options appeal to you, please do not hesitate to call us. We can create a Mardi Gras sweet that suits your unique needs and sweet tooth!
When should I order?
At Three Brothers Bakery, we offer three different sizes of king cake: regular (serves 8-12), large (serves 10-17), and party size (serves 18-24). We have found that this type of Mardi Gras sweet is naturally suited for sharing. It is also very easy for you the customer, to pick-up and transport it to your venue, although we do deliver and can ship the regular size. Prices for a King Cake are available on our website and vary depending on size. We offer all of our customers the option of tasting a slice of king cake for $4.95 at any of our store locations.
It’s important to remember as soon as you know the date of your party and the number of people you’re hosting to give us a call to avoid the Mardi rush!
Order now!
Mardi Gras season has already begun and is in full swing. There is plenty of opportunities to order one of our festive baked goods and celebrate. Three Brothers Bakery has become the headquarters for Houston’s Mardi Gras celebrations. From the traditional King Cake to petit fours and decorated cupcakes, we have you covered until Lent! What are you waiting for? Let us help you, “laissez les bon temps rouler.”