A few years ago when I was teaching preschool, on what just happened to be Fat Tuesday, one of my coworkers said, “Hey Community Bakery donated a king cake to us, you should try some.” I didn’t really pay a whole lot of attention at the time because I had tasted king cake before and wasn’t impressed. Of course I had never had it from Community Bakery and at the time I didn’t know what I was missing.
For those of you that don’t know what a king cake is, it’s a cake that is used to celebrate various celebrations around the world, most specifically the festival of the Epiphany in Europe, and in the US it’s used to celebrate Mardi Gras. Traditionally it is a ring cake that is colored in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of yellow, green and purple. It also has a little baby baked inside and the person who finds the baby gets the honor of providing the king cake for next year’s party. Depending on where you get your cake, it can be more like a brioche bread covered in a frosting, or a puff pastry stuffed with nuts.
Before I had tasted the one from Community Bakery in Little Rock, the ones I had eaten were more like a bread, somewhat dry, and had a thick layer of frosting on it. Anybody that knows me knows that I have an aversion to bakery icing because I tend to find it somewhat bitter, and so my experience with those king cakes was not what I would call a good one. However, my mind was forever changed about king cake with the one from Community Bakery. Theirs is a delicious cinnamon and cream cheesy pastry that is so fluffy and delicious I could eat the whole thing. Then as if the cake itself wasn’t good enough they frost it with a thin and not overpowering icing, and top it off with crunchy colored sugar. I got this picture snapped very quickly before my accomplice dove into it face first.
there it is in it's delicious glory
I have never been so happy to have to get food for research for this blog! Also, in addition to perfect pastries, Community Bakery also makes all sorts of goodies, and has a cafe and coffee shop. While I was in there picking up this cake the place was full of patrons enjoying the baked goods and atmosphere at their downtown location. Their website is very good and can tell you everything you need to know about their services. Being that Dena is the photographer and not me, I will direct you to their site so you can see for yourself how cool their shops are. I hope that you and yours have a fantastic Fat Tuesday!
There are an infinite number of combinations with the cupcakes, and I would not mind being a personal guinea pig for new flavors!
