King Cake rant (2 Viewers)

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How are the Rouse's ones? Nearly bought one on Dec. 31 but didn't seem time yet, never had one before, and they were 20 bucks for a not huge size. Anyway, they had some interesting flavors. One being bananas foster.
 
Madmarsha said:
How are the Rouse's ones? Nearly bought one on Dec. 31 but didn't seem time yet, never had one before, and they were 20 bucks for a not huge size. Anyway, they had some interesting flavors. One being bananas foster.
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They're pretty mid. They're always a little dry, like they're a day old (they probably are).

Other flavors I noted this year : Fudge Brownie, Smores, Wedding Cake, and Cookie Dough.

It's too much, IMO, but I guess somebody will buy them.
 
buzd said:
They're pretty mid. They're always a little dry, like they're a day old (they probably are).

Other flavors I noted this year : Fudge Brownie, Smores, Wedding Cake, and Cookie Dough.

It's too much, IMO, but I guess somebody will buy them.
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Oh, that's the other one I saw, Wedding Cake. No, I'd have to sample before I commit .
 
Madmarsha said:
... they were 20 bucks for a not huge size
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This has been a general thing with kingcakes over the past decade. What was in the 8-10 dollar range in 2010-12 is now 20 bucks or more. They've definitely gone up faster than inflation (though to be fair, so have many of the ingredients).

It reminds me of when crawfish went from "cheap enough that a boiled sack wasn't a real notable expense" to "you have to budget for the once or twice a season you can afford to get crawfish now."
 
Doug B said:
This has been a general thing with kingcakes over the past decade. What was in the 8-10 dollar range in 2010-12 is now 20 bucks or more. They've definitely gone up faster than inflation (though to be fair, so have many of the ingredients).

It reminds me of when crawfish went from "cheap enough that a boiled sack wasn't a real notable expense" to "you have to budget for the once or twice a season you can afford to get crawfish now."
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Yeah, its getting absurdly expensive now. Seems like a 4$ jump per year. Last year, the Haydels cakes were 17, now they're 21$ but its a bigger cake. Saw fried kingcakes from Joe's cafe being sold in Rouses for 25.99$ and those are smallish cakes. Traditional cinnamon Hubigs cakes, 18.99$. Hubigs cakes with filling, 19.99$.

I'm gonna start making my own soon. I used to make them years ago.


If you live out of town here is a nice video, he also has a bunch of New Orleans favorite dish recipes as well.
 
Hubig said:
Yeah, its getting absurdly expensive now. Seems like a 4$ jump per year. Last year, the Haydels cakes were 17, now they're 21$ but its a bigger cake. Saw fried kingcakes from Joe's cafe being sold in Rouses for 25.99$ and those are smallish cakes.
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If you like the Joe's fried ... hit up Zuppardo's - $21.99. I am not sure what Joe's sells them for in their stores. There's one close to me, but they don't make the fried ones.

You're right about how rapid the increase has been. Something else the house might have noticed is that king cake sizes are kind of coalescing around a common size -- what used to be the grocery-store "medium" king cake.

In some ways like size, king cakes offerings have been homogenizing over the past decade or so. It seems that this year, more brands are trying to distinguish themselves by offering more boutique special flavors (e.g. the Rouses flavors detailed above).

...

If anyone hankers for those old-school McKenzies king cakes -- brioche and colored sugar, no white icing or fillings -- the answer today is Hi-Do bakery on Terry Pkwy & Stumpf in Terrytown. Hi-Do still makes them. Curious whether or not there is a close East Bank analog.
 
Doug B said:
If you like the Joe's fried ... hit up Zuppardo's - $21.99. I am not sure what Joe's sells them for in their stores. There's one close to me, but they don't make the fried ones.

You're right about how rapid the increase has been. Something else the house might have noticed is that king cake sizes are kind of coalescing around a common size -- what used to be the grocery-store "medium" king cake.

In some ways like size, king cakes offerings have been homogenizing over the past decade or so. It seems that this year, more brands are trying to distinguish themselves by offering more boutique special flavors (e.g. the Rouses flavors detailed above).

...

If anyone hankers for those old-school McKenzies king cakes -- brioche and colored sugar, no white icing or fillings -- the answer today is Hi-Do bakery on Terry Pkwy & Stumpf in Terrytown. Hi-Do still makes them. Curious whether or not there is a close East Bank analog.
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The best fried donut style that I've had this season is Tasty Cream Donuts on WB Expressway in Westwego.
 
Doug B said:
You're right about how rapid the increase has been. Something else the house might have noticed is that king cake sizes are kind of coalescing around a common size -- what used to be the grocery-store "medium" king cake.

In some ways like size, king cakes offerings have been homogenizing over the past decade or so. It seems that this year, more brands are trying to distinguish themselves by offering more boutique special flavors (e.g. the Rouses flavors detailed above).
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i'd conjecture that there has been a shift from many kingcakes being bought for king cake parties
that most not are for home consumption
 
Paul said:
I don’t understand the king’s English. In layman’s terms please. :covri:
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So most businesses, schools, etc used to have king cake parties every Friday of carnival- the person who go the baby brought the cake the next week
So a number of cakes needed to be big enough to have slices anywhere from 10-30ish people

So I think a few things are happening
- generally Katrina reset everything. A lot of traditions didn’t survive intact. Workplace changed a bunch, but mostly the boujie/hipster wave that hit NO around 2012, shifted an emphasis to boutique-y king cakes vs mom n pop or store brand types
People could handle getting a Sucre king cake for family but no one was going to get a big ol specialty one for the whole office
Covid then was probably the final nail in the ubiquity of the large king cake
 
guidomerkinsrules said:
So most businesses, schools, etc used to have king cake parties every Friday of carnival- the person who go the baby brought the cake the next week
So a number of cakes needed to be big enough to have slices anywhere from 10-30ish people

So I think a few things are happening
- generally Katrina reset everything. A lot of traditions didn’t survive intact. Workplace changed a bunch, but mostly the boujie/hipster wave that hit NO around 2012, shifted an emphasis to boutique-y king cakes vs mom n pop or store brand types
People could handle getting a Sucre king cake for family but no one was going to get a big ol specialty one for the whole office
Covid then was probably the final nail in the ubiquity of the large king cake
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Thanks for the soliloquy; much appreciated. Geez. :hihi:


I agree with you; I’m trying to keep it alive here in Ohio. Since I got here in 2023, I’ve been having them shipped from either Marguerite’s in Slidell or Randazzo’s - our workforce loves them as well as all the stories of my adventures with King cake and Mardi Gras, whether real or embellished. :hihi:
 
family brought over a couple of cakes to an event here in ga

brennan's almond, tasty but very dry, 5/10

caluda's, standard and very good, 7.5/10
 

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