For the next one-and-a-half weeks, you can let the good times roll with a sweet Mardi Gras tradition from St. Louis-based McArthur’s Bakery.
Hundreds of king cakes are being produced at McArthur’s South St. Louis County headquarters on Lemay Ferry Road in anticipation of the pre-Lenten celebrations culminating in Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday), the day before Ash Wednesday on Feb. 22.
“We’ve been making them for years!” said Heather Nickel, general manager of McArthur’s Bakery. “It’s a tradition we continue – to make to them special for everybody.”
Nickel anticipates up to 300 king cakes will be made this year at the bakery, which has been producing the cakes since the late ‘70s. She adds it takes approximately three days to complete a king cake from start to finish.
“The king cake starts with making the dough, then we have to let the dough rest and rise,” Nickel said. “The next day, we flatten and fill it with cream cheese and either gooey butter, strawberry or raspberry filling. From there, it’s split and twisted, goes into our proofer to rise again – then, it’s baked. Once it’s baked, we top it with donut icing and purple, green and gold sugar, and decorate it.”
McArthur’s king cakes come in three flavors: Gooey Butter, Strawberry and Raspberry. So far, the Gooey Butter king cake is the most popular, according to Nickel. The cakes, as well as Mardi Gras-themed cookies, are available at McArthur’s Lemay Ferry Road location and its Pioneer Bakery Café location in Kirkwood.
The king cake gets its name from the story of the Three Kings, who brought gifts to the baby Jesus after his birth. The plastic baby figure included in each cake represents the child in the manger.
When traditionally served, the “baby” is hidden in the cake, and the person who gets the slice with the figurine is expected to host the following year’s Mardi Gras party – or at the very least, provide the cake next time.
Mardi Gras marks the final day of “revelry” for Christians before Ash Wednesday and the start of the Lenten season, 40 days of fasting and reflection that lead to Easter Sunday.
The Soulard neighborhood in St. Louis hosts one of the largest Mardi Gras parades outside of New Orleans. Every year, an average of 15 million beads are thrown along the 1.6-mile parade route by the approximately 75 “krewes” participating. This year’s Grand Parade is on Saturday, Feb. 18.
