Louisiana’s favorite Mardi Gras munchies are migrating north thanks to the continued rise to prominence of one of the Pelican State’s favorite athletic import/exports.
The popular pro in question is, of course, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, the Ohio native whose transfer to LSU brought a national championship to the bayou, cementing him as a Louisiana legend despite his status as a transplanted yankee.
Now, by taking the long-downtrodden Bengals from the cellar to the Super Bowl, Burrow is quickly becoming a made man in the Midwest as well. And as Cincinnati sports fans embrace all things Burrow, they have started to delve into some of the delicacies their young star got to sample during his tenure in Baton Rouge.
To that end, a local Cincinnati treat shop, Busken Bakery, has begun offering what they call the “King of the Jungle Cake” – essentially a traditional Mardi Gras king cake but decorated in the Bengals’ team colors of orange and black instead of the Carnival color scheme of purple, green and gold.
Interestingly, the confection is simply a twist on an existing item on the menu.
“We’ve been making Mardi Gras king cakes for over 25 years,” said Kathy Birkofer, Busken Bakery’s director of experience. She said one of the bakery’s sibling owners, Page Busken, introduced the creole country’s seasonal dessert to their list of offerings in the 1990s, so it wasn’t hard to tweak it in honor of their new favorite honorary Louisianian.
“The Bengals stadium is The Jungle,” Birkofer said. “So when the Bengals won that first playoff game, we said we have to turn our king cakes into a King of the Jungle cake.”
Even the traditional king cake baby has been temporarily dubbed “Baby Joey.”
You can have your own King of the Jungle Cake shipped straight to your Super Bowl party by clicking here.
Burrow leads the Bengals into battle at Super Bowl LVI this Sunday, February 13. You can hear the game on WWL.
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