Photos by Shay Sokol

Ziggy Cichowski of Maple Street Patisserie

We've seen King Cakes pass the test of uninitated pro football players and sneering comedians. But, for our latest batch, it was time to bring the baked goods onto the kind of terrain where debate is spirited, scorching, and often endless: a corner bar.

We brought a bit of Uptown to the Marigny Triangle over the weekend, as our latest panel of judges at Iggy's Bar faced down Carnival concoctions from Maple Street Patisserie and La Divina Gelateria.

Master Pastry Chef Ziggy Cichowski of Maple Street Patisserie gave us plain, almond, and chocolate-marzipan King Cakes to try. One woman who is on a strict diet of no sugar, but who had to indulge, summed up the overall consensus of Iggy’s tasters.

“Oh my gosh!” she said as she went back for seconds, then thirds, as the diet was happily broken. “I haven’t had anything sweet since the 9th of January."

Co-owner of Maple Street Patisserie, Patricia Ann Donahue, said their King Cakes strive to be “simple, consistent, and traditional.” While biting into one of their King Cakes was simple to enjoy, the folded in flavor of the almond and chocolate-marzipan cakes was full-bodied in the best way. Next to these two flavored cakes, the plain tasted plain. But for the traditional King Cake purists, like one taster named Mike Schafer, a cook at the Country Club, the plain embodied everything a King Cake should be.

“Classic,” Schafer said while still chewing. “That is classic. A cake you can grow up with.”

Schafer said the other two flavored cakes were too far in a new direction from the classic for his tastes. Though he did enjoy the flavor of the chocolate-marzipan, Schafer said the other was “assaultingly almond.” The almond cake is definitely only for almond-lovers. It is borderline amaretto. But the other tasters in the bar were not as concerned with preserving the sanctity of a traditional plain King Cake. The chocolate-marzipan and almond cakes were devoured quickly before the plain.

Gigi, a woman from Ashville, NC who comes to town often, said the cakes from Maple St. Patisserie are “light in texture, but rich with flavor.”

“It’s a lovely presentation. Something you want to dive into. They’d look beautiful on a host’s table, where all the guests would sneak back for seconds,” Gigi said, while getting her thirds of the chocolate cake. The chocolate-marzipan from Maple St. was an Iggy’s-wide favorite.

Ross McWilliams said of the three from Maple St. Patisserie that though each had very different flavors, all were very consistent in texture: “Moist, light and fluffy.” The consistent consistency of Master Baker Ziggy Cichowski’s King Cakes is testament to his rare title and his powers to manipulate the pastry universe. Originally from Poland, Cichowski created his King Cakes in homage to the texture of his country’s brioche and babka. All of his King Cakes are hand-made from scratch, multiple times a day.

The bartendress, Lorraine, tried her first chocolate King Cake she’s ever had, and very much liked it. When NoDef pried her for further review, she said, “I like the texture. I like the taste. I like the chocolate. I don’t know what else to say! I like it!” Lorraine was later overheard mumbling behind the bar, “I’m gonna have a party just to order these.”

The shock and awe did not meet the fourth cake we brought in from La Divina Gelateria. The multilocation outfit's Nutella King Cake was heavy, bready, dense and dry, save for the Nutella filling, which made the King Cake – like anything with Nutella in it – only taste like Nutella. Schafer, who currently suffers from an overworked back, had to stop sawing halfway through La Divina’s cake for a slice.

“Y’see this. This is no good for my back. You’ve gotta’ cut it for me,” Schafer said wincing. Schafer said he enjoyed the Nutella flavor, but said the texture is “difficult.”

Maple Street Patisserie serves plain, almond, chocolate-marzipan, bavarian cream, cream cheese, apple, raspberry, praline, and French-style King Cakes. It is located at 7638 Maple Street.

La Divina Gelateria serves Nutella, regular cinnamon, strawberry, and apple-goat cheese King Cakes. It has three locations at 3005 Magazine Street, 621 St. Peter Street, and Loyola University Carrolton Res. Hall near Freret and Calhoun Streets.