It’s now socially acceptable to devour a King Cake and among the most popular is from Haydel’s Bakery in New Orleans. Third-generation baker David Haydel said on average they braid anywhere from 60,000 to 75,000 cakes a year. And it’s not just folks in the Bayou State who enjoy a Haydel King Cake.
“In the late 80s, we started shipping them. We were the first bakery to ship King Cakes nationwide and it’s grown, grown, and grown, ever since then,” said Haydel.
They also ship internationally and Haydel said they’ve sent the beloved pastry to places like Egypt, Ireland, and Australia.
And while most bakeries place the plastic baby on the outside of a King Cake, Haydel’s does it the old fashion way.
“We still put the plastic baby in the cake. We don’t like shove it in there and bury it. It’s just right on the bottom of the cake when they turn the cakes onto the board. So, anybody that’s looking for it all they have to do is rub their hand under the cake and they can find it,” said Haydel.
Haydel said they begin prepping for King Cake season in early November and bring in truckloads of ingredients. The average day at Haydel’s this time of year begins at 12:30 in the morning for bakers, they close shop at 5:00 in the evening, a cleaning crew comes in, and then it starts all over again. And even with all that preparation on King’s Day, they sold out.
“People were like devastated. They were like nooooooo I’ve driven all this way to get a King Cake and you don’t have any. Seeing people so fired up about King Cake, is a lot of fun,” said Haydel.
And every Haydel King Cake includes a porcelain collectible.
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