Additional reporting by Meg Ryan and Jennifer Tormo // Sidebars by Benjamin Leger
Louisiana is the home of culinary excess, so it’s no surprise we like our sweets, well, sweet.
Forget restraint.
King cakes are better when stuffed, iced and showered in dyed sugar. Bread pudding isn’t finished until enrobed in sweet rum sauce. Beignets aren’t beignets without powdered sugar. Even savory dishes like cornbread and mustard greens get a lift from an innocent pinch of sugar, swear many home cooks.
Why? Because sugar has been on our tables since the 18th century, when the state’s sugar cane industry first took off. Our menu continues to be influenced by sugar cane’s byproducts—cane syrup, local rum, and of course, the everyday sugar we spoon with abandon into coffee and use to create our favorite cakes, pies and pastries.
Sure, sugar calls for moderation. But if there’s ever a time to flex your sweet tooth, February is it. Awash in king cakes, Valentine’s Day treats and rewards for January discipline, the month is packed with opportunities to explore the many ways Baton Rouge relishes dessert. Here is a small sampling.
SIDEBAR SOURCES: NDP Group, bake magazine, FoodNavigator-USA, Pinterest and local and national media
This article was originally published in the February 2022 issue of 225 magazine.
