HOUMA, La. — Some say the best king cake in New Orleans - isn't made in New Orleans.
"Well, there's a lot of great king cakes out there and so we love our[s] and we put a lot of care into it."
When discussing the best in the city, you'll typically hear household staples like Dong Phoung, Randazzo's, and Antoine's. But you can't forget this hidden gem on the bayou, Cannata's.
"It's put us on the map!"
Based in Houma, Cannata's was named 'The king of cakes', at the last King Cake Festival in 2019. And five years later, they still protect that title with pride.
WWL Louisiana's Yasmeen Singleton visited Cannata's King Cakes and even had a hand in making a king cake of her own.
Cannata's may be located in Terrebonne Parish, but the supermarket opened its doors uptown in 1939. The family then made a commitment to time-honored-scratched baking. Owner Vince Cannata says to this day, the near century old recipe has love in every bite.
"It's always been something with food. Food's kind [of] always been in our DNA and all of our cakes are obviously made from scratch," he said.
Cannata brought Singleton to the market's 'Cakery', where over 1,000 cakes are baked daily.
Before baked to perfection, the king cakes are hand rolled, braided, and injected with tasty fillings like gooey butter and snickerdoodle.
The bakery also has a cream cheese filling, Singleton's personal favorite.
"I'm a cream cheese girl. I like cream cheese in my king cake. It doesn't have cream cheese in it, I don't want it!"
But for Cannata, choosing a favorite flavor is never easy.
"That's like choosing between your children. I'm a big cream cheese guy. Anything that has cream cheese in it, I like it a lot," he explained.
Whether you prefer your king cake traditional, cream, or fruit filled, Cannata's has 60 sweet and savory flavors that are guaranteed to make your taste buds sing.
The market is expected to sell nearly 50,000 cakes this season in Houma and with multiple retailers across southeast Louisiana.
Cannata said the most rewarding part of continuing his parent's legacy is the annual spotlight put on a small town on the bayou.
"There is a source of pride I think in knowing that such good cakes come from this area. It's everything Louisiana represents."
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