There’s nothing small about the demand for king cakes over at Smallcakes Cupcakery and Creamery this year. Hundreds of dressed-up, braided Carnival treats head out the door each week, with customers traveling to the bakery off Highland Road to nab a spot in the usually out-the-door line.
It’s the first season owner Cami Veasman has offered king cakes in her shop, which she took over almost two years ago. Veasman says she worked closely with her pastry chef, Melissa “Missy” McLemore, to perfect her basic cake before developing a long list of fillings and flavors to offer. Now, the duo tries to make about 100 every day, and they almost always sell out.
Expect traditional cinnamon stacked up and ready to be sold, plus a list of other over-the-top “King Cake 2.0” options like strawberry cheesecake, Biscoff cookie butter, Thin Mint and more. Her favorite? The Mississippi Mud, a chocolate, whipped cream and pecan-topped cake.
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Just like everything else at Smallcakes, king cakes are made fresh and not sold past the day they’re made. Veasman says her large selection of flavors is inspired by a Smallcakes recipe book. She is able to tweak the national brand’s formulas daily to make inventive cupcakes and other fun dessert options. She can do about 150 flavors and is always thinking about more.
“When we get to use our creativity, it’s just the best,” she says.
Veasman says the idea to start offering king cakes came about after her success making another iconic Louisiana sweet: doberge cakes. These also come in a variety of flavors, most of which inspired her king cake fillings. One of the most popular has been her king cake layered slice, which she adapted and enhanced using Smallcakes’ king cake cupcake recipe. (And while she loves the hype her king cakes are getting, she encourages patrons to try the doberge cakes too.)
“We kind of put our heads together, and it took about a week (to perfect the king cake recipe),” Veasman says of the ideation process. “Lots of king cake got tasted and thrown out, tasted and thrown out. It took us a second, but we got it.”
Though she’s gotten the hang of the flow at her bakery, Veasman admits she and her team weren’t fully prepared for the overwhelming support her king cakes have received already. Since realizing it would be a hectic inaugural season, she has spent late nights in the bakery to fulfill orders and is now bringing on a night shift team to help with prep. Veasman even invested in a proofer to allow her cakes to properly rise and is currently looking into adding another oven to her kitchen to keep up.
“Next week is going to be my green light,” she says. “I’ll have systems set and more help. I really wish people who have already come in before knew that we weren’t prepared for the demand. We’re so excited about it, but please don’t think that’s what the rest of the season will be like. … The demand was a shock. I was not expecting this, nor was I prepared. But now I am.”
Veasman also knows she hopped into the king cake world during a particularly long Carnival season, but she’s ready to keep it going until Fat Tuesday in March. And she’s even prepped to offer king cakes year-round, if that’s what her customers want.
“I’m going to do LSU ones,” she says. “I’m going to do Christmas ones or something. I love (making them) too much.”
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Veasman became the owner of the Baton Rouge Smallcakes location after the previous owner, Michelle Salim, decided to sell the bakery. Veasman’s background is in nursing but says the medical world left her drained, especially during COVID. So, she began pursuing her passion for baking, teaching herself by watching YouTube and reading cookbooks. She says the rest happened quite serendipitously. Veasman keeps in contact with Salim for tips and advice. She urges anyone to take a leap of faith, especially when it comes to something you love.
“I couldn’t have picked out a better story for me,” she says about her journey with Smallcakes. “And I just hope it keeps on going, and I keep doing this for the rest of my life.”
Smallcakes is at 18135 E. Petroleum Drive and is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The bakery is also open on Mondays during Mardi Gras season from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. for king cake purchases and pick-ups only. Specialty requests and King Cake 2.0 flavors require a 48-hour notice.