What we know about the huge, multiflavored king cake made for Twelfth Night with a Twist

Emily Enfinger, The Courier
·2 min read

Music and dancing filled the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center late Saturday as Krewes and their guests kicked off Carnival season at the Twelfth Night with a Twist event with a king cake measuring roughly 110 feet in circumference.

The cake was created by Bertinot's Best Bakery, a Houma bakery that has made at least one extra-large king cake per year for more than a decade. Flavors in Saturday's cake transitioned from plain to best-selling fillings such as cream cheese, Bavarian cream, strawberry, lemon and apple. Toppings also alternated from purple, gold and green sugar sprinkles to generous drizzles of caramel and pecan bits.

Staff members and owners of Bertinot's Best Bakery assemble and decorate a king cake on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, for the Twelfth Night with a Twist event at Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center that took place later that evening.
Staff members and owners of Bertinot's Best Bakery assemble and decorate a king cake on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, for the Twelfth Night with a Twist event at Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center that took place later that evening.

Aside from its size, what makes Best Bakery's king cake stand apart is the type of dough used. The bakery makes its king cakes using a sweet chix de femme dough and a recipe that dates back at least 100 years.

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Conjuring up a cake this size takes math, planning and careful timing, bakery owners Melissa and Robert Bertinot explained. Once the size is determined, the bakery uses a system of numbered trays to organize the shape and where flavors will go. The dough is then made the day before and is left to freeze overnight. The next morning, the dough is baked and filled before transporting it to its destination for assembly and decoration.

Staff members and owners of Bertinot's Best Bakery assemble and decorate king cake on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, for the Twelfth Night with a Twist event at Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center that took place later that evening.
Staff members and owners of Bertinot's Best Bakery assemble and decorate king cake on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, for the Twelfth Night with a Twist event at Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center that took place later that evening.

The dough for Saturday's cake was made Friday and the rest of the cake's transformation process was done Saturday in the hours leading up to the event, allowing it to be fresh for hundreds to enjoy. The couple said the bakery was closed for regular business on Saturday so it could finish preparing the Twelfth Night king cake.

Robert measured the final cake Saturday morning and said it was about 110 feet in circumference.

The couple was uncertain where Saturday's cake ranked in size compared to extra-large cakes they've made in the past. However, Robert said the bakery got its start in making the extra-large king cakes 2008 when Terrebonne General requested an extra-large King Cake for its employees.

"And we made this giant king cake for them, and that's where it all started, with Terrebonne General," Robert said.

-- Emily Enfinger is a reporter for The Courier and the Daily Comet. Follow her on Twitter at @EmilyEnfinger. Email Emily at eenfinger@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Bertinot's Best Bakery makes giant king cake for Twelfth Night event