By Mary Foster – Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Pastry chef Jean-Luc Albin certainly can turn out a delicious traditional king cake — one with a premium brioche dough, rich with butter and eggs. But these days it’s his inspired variations on that classic he’s most passionate about.
His Bourbon Street king cake, for example: chocolate custard, bourbon and toasted pecans. Or there is his General Foster king cake with a bananas Foster-type filling; the Woodlawn Plantation, with praline cream and Southern Comfort; or even the Pontchartrain, filled with Bavarian cream custard, sliced strawberries, almonds and whipped cream.
“Every year I do something a little different, something new,” Albin said. “It makes things interesting.”
“The filled king cake trend started in the 1970s,” said Liz Williams, president of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum in New Orleans. “People wanted things that were sweeter and sweeter, and bakers wanted to be different. Before that, king cakes looked the same and were pretty much the same.”
These days, at least two dozen flavors and fillings are readily available. In addition to most fruits, you also can get such exotic flavors as praline, cream cheese and almond paste.
At Navarre’s Famous King Cakes in Springfield, La., about 45 miles northwest of New Orleans, Earnie Navarre has even introduced a sweet potato-praline king cake.
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Chef Jean-Luc Albin’s Metairie, LA restaurant Maurice French Pastries. To view their website click here: http://www.mauricefrenchpastries.com
