Louisiana's Top Bakery Makes King Cakes All Year Round

Ask a dozen Louisianans where to find the state's best bakery, and you'll no doubt get a dozen answers. The debate is especially fierce when it comes to king cakes, where some of the best bakeries in New Orleans get in on the Carnival tradition every year. And there's one bakery that frequently earns a place near the tippy-top of those conversations: Caluda's. The family-owned bakery has been producing king cakes for more than 35 years and has racked up numerous awards and "best king cake" honors along the way. 

Founded by pastry chef John Caluda and his son, Josh, the business has grown into one of the largest dedicated king cake bakeries in the New Orleans area. One reason Tasting Table ranked Caluda's as the best bakery in the state is for its consistency. While some bakeries only focus on king cakes during Mardi Gras, Caluda's has built its identity around the pastry and produces and ships king cakes year-round from its 10,000-square-foot facility in Harahan (a suburb of New Orleans). 

Its signature king cake is the classic Danish-style dough layered with butter and cinnamon sugar and topped with homemade vanilla icing, along with plenty of purple, gold, and green granulated sugar. Some of the most popular varieties include cream cheese, praline, and strawberry, along with plenty of themed cakes for Halloween, July 4, and Valentine's Day. If you're feeling crafty, they even offer DIY kits if you prefer to make your own for Mardi Gras. 

Customer reviews call out the cake's moisture and texture as key attributes, and the fact they're widely available. On Reddit, one user noted: "I probably buy a few dozen each season bc they're so good and so easy to get. Last year I think they were even selling them at Costco." Another user appreciated the quality for the price: "Caluda's is probably the best bang for the buck. Slept on for a quality king cake at an incredible price." Another noted the cakes are consistently fresh and easy to find compared to some bakeries that require a lengthy waitlist or long lines. 

Of course, no bakery earns universal acclaim in Louisiana. Some king cake fans appreciate the lighter style at Dong Phuong's, a Vietnamese bakery in the New Orleans East neighborhood, while others prefer the iconic icing at Randazzo's. A few critics have complained that Caluda's is overly sweet, while others have pooh-poohed the bakery for being merely average.

That's part of what makes Louisiana's bakery culture so passionate — there's rarely a consensus, and there's plenty of debates involving king cake rules. Still, Caluda's has a lot going for it: decades of experience, award-winning recipes, widespread availability, nationwide shipping, and the ability to satisfy king cake cravings every month of the year. However, Carnival traditionalists believe king cake is sacred and should only be eaten during that season, and that season only. Whether or not Caluda's is the best bakery in the Bayou State truly depends on whom you ask.