Check out the Boston sub - there were a few posts on this recently.

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This is not a thing in NE. What’s a king cake? I hope it’s delicious.

Coffee Time Bake Shop in Salem -- their web site says they're making King cakes right now.

It’s a giant donut cake with a ceramic baby Jesus hidden inside for you to break your tooth on.

Not really a thing here. I have them shipped from New Orleans

It's as much a thing in New England as Mardis Gras. I've only ever seen King Cake on the Gulf Coast (e.g. New Orleans).

This blows my mind. When I was growing up, we would have them in school and it was always a competition to see who would get the baby.

In western MA there’s Randall’s Farm in Ludlow that sells them.

I'm from Northern Virginia and my husband is from Richmond and we both had it throughout our childhoods and in college. I wonder why it's gained more popularity there than here.

They have them in Wegmans in Burlington, saw them yesterday.

You can get them delivered from Brennan’s in NOLA.

My wife's baking one right now. We just always make our own.

(Notice the royal "we" there? She does it all, I just eat it.)

I never heard of them until I visited NOLA

I think I saw one at either Wilson Farms In Lexington - if you give them a call maybe they can help you

Baby?! I gotta Google this 😂

There’s a little place out in western mass. In the town of charlemont. It’s called Wells provisions. The couple that owns it is from New Orleans. They make king cakes and lots of other New Orleans specialties.

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Opinion:

I searched to see what a "King Cake" was, and it looks much like a "Bundt Cake."

I used to live in Louisiana. The best king cake I’ve had since moving to Boston was overnighted from New Orleans.

i have never heard of this. my wife had coworkers at a job that did do it but that was recently never growing up.

They have so many little goodies there.

Between Randall's Farm in Ludlow, Atkins Farms in Amherst, Sapowsky Farms in Grandby, and McCray's Farm in South Hadley, those were always good places.

Second the wegmans recommendation. The one in Northborough had it last week!

This is a pretty good bakery. I've bought carrot cakes and had carrots cakes bought for me. Very yummy. I love carrot cake. It is the TRUE KING or QUEEN of cakes not you made up one!!!! Coffee is good too.

This sounds weird but a very similar flavor, with almond filling, is at Trader Joe’s: their Almond Kringle. It’s a flat pastry, over a foot in diameter, in the baked goods section. In a flat waxed paper bag, folded and stickered shut on the open end.

My friend used to order a king cake from Louisiana and have it shipped. That’s the other option.

I can second this as i am half way through their cinnamon king cake and idk if the other half will make it through the night

We order them online. But in recent years I've seen them at Star Market.

I’ve heard of them, never seen one.

Bakeries around me have them on display. I'm south of Boston.

Coffee time in Salem has it, they also have Pączki. I have never had New Orleans style king cake so I gave no idea if it’s a good example. The paczki were tasty, the king cake looked a little weird.

Saw them at market basket

I'm from northern VA too so I just want to corroborate what you're saying for the other commenters. Every bakery and grocery store has king cakes out the 2 weeks leading up to Mardi Gras.

I think if you ordered one from the bakery in Whole Foods they’d make you one. I might be remembering another store though.

Mardi Gras isn't really a thing in New England. I mean, we know what it is and all but the real traditions aren't observed here.

Thank you! I was starting to question my own memory

Went into one today and had to ask the bakery manager who looked at me like I was crazy

Oh wow, my uncle lived in Charlemont! His daughter went to school with 5 other kids in her grade, and she was the only girl. It’s crazy to see the town mentioned lol

I just had some (not awesome) king cake from the cafe at Carney hospital while my husband had an outpatient procedure. Not that I suggest you go to a hospital to get some… lol

I'm not that desperate lol

It's a Biblical tradition, dating back to King Solomon - you bake a baby into a cake and then attempt to cut it in half. At least, that's how ChatGPT described it.

Maybe an Italian bakery. I remember a place in Lawrence across from Tripolis that would make something similar around Easter.

Literally you can google..

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/2017/02/21/king-cake-boston-mardi-gras-2017/

It's bad luck to eat king cake out of Mardi Gras season. You'd better eat it tonight to keep us all safe.

Moved from Texas 5 years ago, my wife has a friend mail one to us. You won’t find it anywhere up here!

Is Mardi Gras like New Orleans St Patty’s Day? It should be a national fuckin holiday ked. Holidays ranked in order of importance:

Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Ash Wednesday, St Patty’s Day, Larry Bird’s Birthday, Every other holiday.

Baby Jesus and a broken tooth? Sounds like a wonderful treat.

I haven't had that since I was a tiny child. Looking at pics on google I can remember the taste, I didn't much care for it.

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They are easy enough to make.

Never heard of such a thing

big fat penis cake

Having a Southerner in my online baby group back in the day is the only reason I know what a king cake is.

Saw them in Wegmans this week

Anytime I see the word Bundt, I remember watching "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"..."bunnnnn-dt, buuuunt, bunddddt" followed by a confused expression 😅

Also had to Google what this is, but! I saw this at Union Square Donuts in Somerville this weekend (well, a Mardi Gras Cinnamon Roll).

I've known this as Gallete des rois, but does not look like the Mardi Gras version. This version is a flaky pastry with almond filling 🤤 Made it once. Also, Clear Flour Bakery in Brookline sells this version...super delish 😊

It’s supposed to bring good luck. It also brings a lighter wallet because if you get the baby Jesus you’re buying/making the next cake.

I highly recommend Meche’s Donuts in Lafayette. Not dry, super tasty, lots of flavors available. Haven’t had one from New Orleans to beat it yet.

We had some at work today. Overnighted from Joe Gambinos Bakery. They were amazing. Would have eaten more but was busy with my paczki. Did not come with baby however…prob too much of a liability.

What??? I’m a Masshole and missing out… on cake?!! I’m angry right now! We need a king cake, godammit!

This thread is giving me flashbacks from the Borat sequel.

Lol a dispensary was giving out some to customers today, grew up here my whole life and never knew about them until today.

OMG! I lived in Virginia Beach for years. There was absolutely zero anything at all for Mardi Gras anywhere today. I’m sorry but does it not exist up here? I get it New Orleans is far away but damn!

It is a thing in Portuguese communities in Massachusetts. I had it every Christmas with the Portuguese folks. It’s called bolo rei instead of king cake. If you get the baby Jesus or the nut, it means you get to host next.

New England was settled by Protestants - Protestant culture still rules. Mardis Gras is connected to Catholic tradition preceding lent.

So I’d guess areas that were catholic/french catholic were more likely to celebrate.

I buy my king cakes online and have them shipped

yea it’s not a thing up here

What the fuck is a king cake

As you can see, not a New England thing, however, Harvey’s bakery in Dover, NH.

Massachusetts and Rhode Island have the largest Catholic populations in the country, so I guess it must be the French part that we're missing out on.

My wife and her bestie have a Mardi Gras tradition every year now where they attempt a box mix king cake. Something always goes wrong with the rising process, and it ends up looking terrible but tasting great.

But yes, they are almost nonexistent and unheard of here in the Bay State. I’ve come to the conclusion that Mardi Gras never took off here because February weather here is the opposite of party time. Either cold, gray, damp, and dead or colder, gray, frozen, and angry. Perfect gumbo weather though!

I guess culturally the bigger question is whether or not there’s a big pre-Lent Carnival season in Ireland. If not, there’s your answer.

Oh shoot now I understand why we don’t have it here. Our Fat Tuesday celebration isn’t based much at all on the New Orleans/French one. It’s based on the Polish one so we have Pączki instead.

Ha - fair.

Likely. Our Fat Tuesday foods have more Polish roots with Pączki.

I like the idea of a cake with a prize inside! I had heard of baking a bean or a radin into a cake as a “ who gets it “ kinda thing before - I just wasn’t sure just it was called/what the practice was for. Til.

That sounds like a fun tradition! I think I'll have to take up a similar tradition although I'm a terrible baker.

You might be onto something with that explanation. With this weather though, maybe Mardi Gras has a chance for a surge in popularity.

Ahhh. Brought back memories of when I tried King Cake at a pot luck for the first time and got the plastic baby in my slice. I still have no idea what it means.

I had a similar situation when I moved here from NW Ohio where there is a large Polish population and I missed Paczkis. Grocery store Paczkis are just donuts. Coffee Time in Salem does house-made, hand-rolled Paczkis.

They also make King Cake. I haven't had one, but I have seen them and they look amazing.

The Italian Kitchen? That one closed down about 5-6yrs ago.

Had this. Same experience. Hilarious, confounded by the entire thing every placed I called

New England has a quite a sizable French Canadian population and many of us have connections with the Louisiana French via Le Grand Derangement, i.e. Cajun is the anglicized word for Acadian.

O nooo they made some awesome food. The huge arancini and chicken parm was the perfect meal. Do they still do the St Anthony festival?

They also have good pączki (says the Polish guy).

Where I grew up we had an annual yam festival.

You might want to call the French Quarter restaurant in Downtown Crossing. Their head chef is from Lafayette.

Never heard of such a thing, and I grew up here.

If you're north of Boston, be on the lookout for Revelry Food Truck; they did a Mardi Gras event at Idle Hands in Malden on Saturday and were selling king cakes whole and by the slice

Mission accomplished

Born and raised in central New England between Boston and Worcester. Today is the first day I have heard of a king cake ever.

Wegmans

We got rid of the king some 250 years ago.

Lifelong New Englander. I only learned what a King cake was when I watched the creepy show on Apple TV called "Servant" where Leanne makes one. I had never heard of it before then. That said, I think I saw one in Market Basket in Cheslea on Saturday. No idea if it contains the baby.

A real American hero.

They sold the riceball (and crispelli) recipe to Crispelli USA-they operate out of a food truck that's typically at Ted's Stateline store in Salem, NH or Mann's Orchardin Methuen but yes they're also at the feast. My husband and I still pick up Crispellis and riceballs about once a month...still delicious! They also make various other foods...which are equally delicious.