As Carnival season hits full stride in Louisiana, many locals and visitors have eaten a slice or seven of their favorite local king cakes. Popular king cake purveyors in Shreveport-Bossier – places like Lilah’s Bakery, Tubbs Hardware and Cajun Gifts, and Julie Anne’s Bakery and Cafe – will sell tens of thousands of king cakes before Fat Tuesday comes to a close. The Remington Suite Hotel, a boutique hotel located in downtown Shreveport, is even offering a free king cake tasting on Fat Tuesday – see details here.
But let’s just assume, purely as an exercise, that you’re tired of eating your king cake in the form of an actual cake. You’re still craving the flavors of king cake, but you’d rather enjoy those flavors in another format.
The Glenwood Tearoom is beloved for their homemade scones; the restaurant serves a special king cake scone until Fat Tuesday, and it looks amazing. Well+Fed Louisiana serves gluten-free, vegan king cake cinnamon rolls created by Scratch House Kitchen that are way, way better than I’d expected them to be – every bit as decadent as a traditional king cake. 2Johns Steak and Seafood in Bossier City offers king cake bread pudding as well as a popular king cake martini, complete with a plastic baby clinging to the glass. Rhino Coffee has proven their dedication to making king cake-flavored versions of everything imaginable, including king cake lattes (with house-made king cake syrup!), king cake muffins and more. Whisk Dessert Bar has transformed everything except Chef Blake Jackson into a king cake – this new dessert-only eatery really gets into the Carnival spirit.
Another category of king cake ingenuity includes king cakes that are made from other, delicious things than the traditional dough. The Southern Maid Donuts location on East 70th Street will make you a “king cake” that essentially looks like a gigantic bear claw; upstart Shreveport bakery Bisking Cakes is making king cakes out of biscuits, and has been featured in Garden & Gun magazine for their head-turning recipe.
Then there’s always, as Shreveport-based food and travel blogger Jada Durden puts it, “the dranks.” Alky Therapy, an unconventional drive-through daiquiri joint, has created the wildest-looking king cake daiquiri we’ve ever seen (link to Facebook post), which they’ll be serving through Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018. If you prefer frozen treats of the non-alcoholic variety, there are king cake ice creams and gelatos galore in Shreveport-Bossier: It’s worth tracking down Sweetport, our local ice cream truck, to try their Krewe of Lilah-nd king cake ice cream (look at this stuff – it’s actually got a slice of king cake at the core!) and Paciugo Gelato Caffè Shreveport has made a stir with their popular king cake gelato.
Whew, that’s a lot of king cake. Did we miss your favorite local king cake-inspired creation? Let us know in the comments.
To learn more about Mardi Gras in Shreveport-Bossier, visit www.ShreveportMardiGras.com.
Sugarwalk Popcorn on Youree Dr has delicious King Cake popcorn!! 😋🤤