By Lisa YatesTimes Editor
Bakeries that want to succeed in today's supermarket culture must do more than assure their products are fresh.
Their ideas must be fresh, too.
When Paula Stevens and her brother, Lucas Verret, founded Delicious Donuts & Bakery 15 years ago, they included freshly-baked king cakes among their repertoire of mouth-watering treats.
“The most popular fillings are pecan praline, and pralines-n-cream,” Stevens said. “Half of all of the king cakes we sell are these.” Along with fruit flavors – like bananas foster, blueberry, lemon, raspberry, strawberry, cherry, and pineapple – the bakery also offers Bavarian, chocolate, cream cheese and the traditional, cinnamon. There's also Zulu and a combination of fruit and cream cheese fillings on the menu.
Each year, Stevens and her “krewe” gets together to create a new filling just in time for Mardi Gras. “One year it was bananas foster, another year we added peaches and cream,” she said. “We even had a peanut butter and jelly filling one year. Stevens and the bunch would not divulge this year's new flavor, but added it will be out at the end of January.
“We're still sampling prototypes – it's a tough job, but someone has to do it,” she joked. Delicious Donuts & Bakery sent The Times staff a Bavarian-filled king cake fresh out of the oven. Everyone agreed it was the best king cake in they had ever eaten. But readers don't have to take their word for it. They can do a “Google search” and see what travel writers around the world have to say about these king cakes.
“When travel writers come to Louisiana, they travel throughout the state – New Orleans, Lafayette, all over – to see and do different things,” Stevens said. “When they come here, the tourist bureau takes them to the Mardi Gras museum and asks us to come give a king cake demonstration.”
She explained that a king cake demonstration involves bringing “naked king cakes” - those without icing and decorations – and letting visitors add the rest. “We also tell them about the history of the king cake,” Stevens said. “We tell them it's a tradition for the person who finds the baby to host the next party. Most of thim don't know about this and they love it.”
When the writers get finished decorating, she arranges to have the cakes shipped to their homes. They sample the demo cake eagerly anticipating who will get the piece with the baby. “It really makes an impression on them,” Stevens said. “Sometimes they'll send a copy of an article and we'll see that a third of it is dedicated to us.”
She said it's a lot of fun and something she enjoys sharing with others. “It's very gratifying to start from scratch and end up with a product that puts a smile on someone's face and a taste they can remember,” Stevens said.
Many of her travel writers end up as loyal customers, ordering king cakes and sharing this Southwest Louisiana tradition with family and friends. In fact, anyone can order king cakes. Cakes are shipped year-round through the Delicious Donuts & Bakery Web site at www.deliciouskingcakes.com.
During Mardi Gras season, king cakes are ready to go, baked fresh each day at the store on 2283 Country Club Road, in Lake Charles. Customers can also call ahead to reserve a king cake with their favorite filling.
Delicious Donuts & Bakery has more than just the hottest king cakes in town, the shop specializes in donuts, kalotchies, cookies, cakes, and party trays – including miniatures – bite-sized appetizer versions of the full-sized pastries.
“We get orders from L'auberge du lac for the miniatures,” Stevens said. “They order them for their V.I.P. Guests.”
Stevens and Verret not only own the shop, they work alongside their small kitchen staff making pastries and waiting on customers. “I'm an arts and crafts person – I like to make things,” Stevens said. “Like art, you start from scratch and create a finished product – only ours you can eat! “It's very gratifying to put a smile on someone's face and create a taste they can remember.” Through a viewing window, customers can watch as dough is rolled out, hand-cut, and shaped for baking.
Stevens said there's an art to hand-cutting pastry, which is a key factor to making products look and taste good. “After all, if it doesn't look good, nobody is going to eat it,” she said.
“We make it fresh on site; and, we're here every day to maintain quality control. We don't even try to compete with supermarket products. Ours are made fresh - they don't have that privilege.”
For more information, call (337) 479-2986, or visit Delicious Donuts & Bakery, at 2283 Country Club Road, in Lake Charles. The store is open from 5 a.m. To 6 p.m., seven days a week.
