Bakeries are busy already, what with Super Bowl Sunday and then Valentine’s Day on Wednesday.
Squeezed in between the two festivities is Fat Tuesday and, while related delicacies are hard to find, they are available.
For those who enjoy the revelry of Mardi Gras, the bakers at hilltop Hy-Vee on Adams Street are whipping up 36 king cakes.
Typically the cinnamon cakes would have a tiny doll baked inside, but the bakers now put them on top of the cakes as a precaution after one customer years ago accidentally ate the tiny doll.
“It’s something fun for our decorating team to do,” said Kylan Klein, bakery manager at the hilltop Hy-Vee. “We build a display each year. People come.”
The display also includes cupcakes and paczkis, which are Polish doughnuts popular for Mardi Gras.
“You’ve got the Super Bowl, Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day crammed into a small window,” Klein said. “It’s been pretty challenging with them back to back like that.”
A king cake is $12.99 at Hy-Vee, which serves six to eight, Klein said. It’s essentially a cinnamon roll cake with sprinkles, glitter and beads adorning the top.
Laura Fries, activities director at Oak Terrace, ordered two king’s cakes from Hy-Vee and is organizing a Mardi Gras party for the 65 residents there.
“It’s like a big pastry,” she said of the cake. “The lore behind it is if the baby is in your piece, you have a year of good fortune. It’s fun for our residents. Anything food-related is a hit.”
Tony Friesen of 2 Pins Bakery in Mankato said he has a dozen king’s cakes on order. Friesen bakes an eight-serving cake for $15 and a 20-serving cake for $35.
“It’s a sweet dough with cinnamon filling, royal icing, purple, gold and green sugars, an accent of Mardi Gras beads and a baby hidden inside,” Friesen said.
“It’s been a perfect storm with the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras hitting all at once,” he said. “It’s been a pretty busy 72-hour period, that’s for sure.”