Carnival season is upon us, and with it comes a variety of pleasures specific to the holiday. One such pleasure is the king cake, a New Orleans staple this time of year that, in its simplest definition, is a ringed pastry topped with colorful sprinkles containing a small plastic baby hidden inside. Beyond that base-level definition comes a vast array of preferences and specificities that differ based on personal taste and regionality. Some people prefer the standard king cake, which has cinnamon baked into the pastry and purple, gold, and green sprinkles on top. While others may go for king cakes filled with cream cheese, fruit, or chocolate. Regardless of which flavor or style is your favorite, and whether you buy your king cake from a small beloved bakery, or the local grocery store, they're pretty hard to beat.
Part of the fun of making your way through a king cake is the fact that they're not available year round, or shouldn't be. King cake season kicks off on Twelfth Night (12 days after Christmas), also referred to as Epiphany, and ends shortly after Mardi Gras day (AKA, Fat Tuesday) which is the day before Lent. If you're finishing off the remaining slices of your cake after Ash Wednesday, we won't judge you. But you may get a side-eye or two from New Orleans natives if you're seen eating king cake beyond that week. Just sayin.'
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