Here's How To Get a King Cake Delivered to Your Door No Matter Where You Live

The vibrant and music-filled annual festival known as Mardi Gras is set to take over the city of New Orleans (and much of southern Louisiana) on Tuesday, February 21. Mardi Gras has become such an enormous cultural force in the United States that many non-Louisianans choose to celebrate by wearing colorful beads, enjoying a hearty Cajun-Creole repast of gumbo or jambalaya, and having a hearty slice of king cake. It's a brioche-like ring cake drizzled with sweet icing, decorated with sprinkles in the traditional Mardi Gras colors (purple, green, and yellow), sometimes stuffed with cream cheese or fruit, and almost always served with a plastic baby figurine tucked into the cake, which will bring good luck to whoever finds the baby in their slice.

Because Mardi Gras is just several days away, it can be tough to locate a king cake at a grocery store or a local bakery (or even at a New Orleans-based bakery), as these special-occasion desserts tend to sell out quickly. That's why we scoured bakery websites and platforms like Goldbelly to find six excellent king cake options that can still be ordered for delivery in time for Mardi Gras.

Gambino's Traditional King Cake Kit

Gambino's, a classic New Orleans bakery that's been serving up top-notch king cakes for more than 70 years, has built a lucrative mail-order business that allows them to share their festive treats with fans all over the country. Thanks to their partnership with Goldbelly, Gambino's can still send king cakes out to the last-minute Mardi Gras celebrants among us. They're offering king cake kits, which include a full-sized king cake flavored with vanilla and a touch of cinnamon, rich fondant icing (which makes an excellent surface for colorful sprinkles), sugar-crystal "sprinkles" in Mardi Gras colors, and a tiny plastic baby to hide in the cake. The "kit" structure allows you to customize your king cake to suit your preferences, and the cake's large size makes this a suitable dessert for an entire Mardi Gras party.

The Gambino's traditional king cake kit can be purchased on Goldbelly for $63, with a guaranteed delivery date prior to Mardi Gras.

Maurice French Pastries New Orleans King Cake

Maurice French Pastries is a celebrated shop in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, founded in the late 80s by a French-trained pastry chef and committed to keeping its community well-stocked with Gallic cakes, cookies, tarts, and croissants. They also make an award-winning king cake made with hand-braided brioche dough, and Goldbelly is currently selling a king cake kit from Maurice French Pastries with a fully-baked cake, white glaze frosting, colorful sugar sprinkles, a baby figurine, and decorative items associated with this particular holiday, like Mardi Gras beads and "doubloons" (coins).

Maurice French Pastries offers several king cake options on Goldbelly: the traditional kit, a kit that includes a filled king cake (with filling choices like cream cheese, Bavarian cream, strawberry preserves, and pralines), and a set of miniature king cakes ideal for groups. The traditional kit sells for $63, the filled cake kit is $70, the 4-pack of mini cakes is $80, and all can be delivered before Mardi Gras.

Caluda's King Cake

Caluda's is a bakery operating just outside of New Orleans that focuses exclusively on king cakes, so you can rest assured that they know their stuff. Their mellow cinnamon vanilla cakes can be purchased either "plain" or with fillings like cream cheese, praline, and strawberry. Caluda's packages their icing on the side to allow customers the chance to customize their sweetness level, and the king cake kit also includes Mardi Gras sprinkles, Mardi Gras beads, and a commemorative Caluda's cup.

Caluda's King Cake can be purchased on the Caluda's website for $23-30 (the filled versions are slightly costlier than the basic ones) and will arrive in time for Mardi Gras.

Haydel's Bakery King Cake Package

A NOLA bakery serving southern Louisiana specialties for several generations, Haydel's offers an appealing mail-order package available to king cake lovers outside of Bayou Country. In addition to Haydel's much-loved king cake (pre-decorated with icing and colored sugar), this package includes a package of French Market Coffee (a dark-roast brew accented with chicory that's a New Orleans classic), a story scroll detailing the history of the king cake in Louisiana, and an assortment of Mardi Gras beads.

Haydel's King Cake (with the accompanying accessories) sells for $65 on the Haydel's website, and you can select next-day delivery to guarantee arrival well before Mardi Gras.

Commander's Palace King Cake Bread Pudding

For an interesting twist on the standard-issue king cake, look to Commander's Palace. This iconic NOLA eatery adapts traditional king cake into a rich and indulgent bread pudding, which contains brioche soaked in custard and seasoned with cinnamon, praline liqueur, and (of course) a plastic baby figurine.

Commander's Palace King Cake Bread Pudding can be purchased on Goldbelly for $60 with a 7-day delivery window.

Daniel Boulud Kitchen Mardi Gras Galette des Rois

While New Orleans earns its reputation as the king cake capital of the United States, it's far from the only city producing worthwhile renditions of this festive dessert. Daniel Boulud Kitchen in New York City offers galette des rois, a French tart that's the (loose) inspiration for the more-typical NOLA king cakes out there. Instead of using a ring of brioche to form a cake, the galette des rois includes puff pastry encasing a pastry cream flavored with almonds. The galette des rois sold by Daniel Boulud Kitchen doesn't feature purple, green, or yellow sprinkles. Instead, it has a stylish floral design on top made of white powdered sugar, and the preparation instructions encourage you to give the tart a brush of egg wash before heating it in the oven (to heighten the glossiness of the puff pastry).

Daniel Boulud Kitchen Mardi Gras Galette des Rois is available on Goldbelly for $50 with delivery by Mardi Gras.