If you’re not able to hop on a plane to New Orleans to celebrate Fat Tuesday this year, do the next best thing – eat all of the great Fat Tuesday foods that you can, right here in Pittsburgh.
Traditional treats include King Cake, which is a sweet, circular treat that comes in a couple of different forms, like a pastry, sweet bread or cake. Topped with either a glaze or colored icing, King Cakes are known for having a small prize baked inside, usually in the form of a plastic baby. Whoever gets the slice with the baby inside gets to be ‘king for the day.’ Another traditional Fat Tuesday dish is the paczki, a doughnut-like pastry that’s filled with fruit or cream, then glazed or covered in powdered sugar.
These seven bakeries (and one restaurant) will have King Cakes or paczkis available for Fat Tuesday. But trust us – if you want to get your hands on some of these treats, make your way to these spots early!
Bethel Bakery
Bethel Bakery’s King Cakes serve 9, and come in four flavors, including Danish, Apricot, Cinnamon and Nut. They also offer a mini king cake in cinnamon, perfect for one or two people. The bakery, which has locations in Bethel Park and North Strabane, also has paczkis on the menu right now, available in Butter Cream, Raspberry, Bavarian Cream, Lemon and with no filling.
Oakmont Bakery
Known for their extensive paczki flavor list (more than a dozen are on the menu, including Raspberry, Pittsburgh Cream, Custard, Oakmont Cream, Blueberry, Cherry, Lemon, Maple Bacon, Cookies & Cream, Prune, Apple, Peach and Plain), these pastries fly off the shelves at Oakmont Bakery during their yearly ‘paczki season.’ They’ll be available this year at the bake shop until March 31. Oakmont Bakery also has King Cakes for sale, in Cream Cheese, Cinnamon, Plain, Creole Praline, or Raspberry.
Potomac Bakery
This Dormont bakery will have King Cakes in stock on Fat Tuesday.
Prantl’s Bakery
Prantl’s King Cakes are covered in thick white icing, sprinkled with gold, green and purple sprinkles, and are available for pre-order and reservation at their locations in Shadyside (412-621-2092), Market Square (412-471-6861) or Greensburg (724-837-3706).
Party Cake Shop
This Brookline shop offers lots of different types of paczkis on Fat Tuesday, including Buttercream, Chocolate Buttercream, Peanut Buttercream, Raspberry, Prune, Lemon, Custard and Plain. They also have a selection of King Cakes available, but suggest getting to the bakery early on Tuesday if you want to get your hands on them.
Priory Fine Pastries
Priory Fine Pastries will have King Cakes available in three flavors, including Raspberry Cream Cheese, Cinnamon and Praline Pecan. The North Side bakery’s King Cakes are made with a sweet dough topped with vanilla icing and colored sugars, and contain a hidden coin for Fat Tuesday good luck. Cakes are $12.75 each, and will be available made-to-order until February 17, with a limited number at the shop on Tuesday. Call (412) 321-7270 to order.
Kretchmar’s Bakery
Kretchmar’s Bakery in Beaver has King Cakes and paczkis available through Fat Tuesday. Kretchmar’s paczkis are famous around town, because they’re double-stuffed, double-fried, and split down the middle in order to get everything to stay in. Call (724) 774-2324 to order.
NOLA on the Square
It wouldn’t be a Fat Tuesday post without a NOLA on the Square mention! The Mardi Gras-inspired restaurant downtown will be hosting their own Fat Tuesday celebration on February 13, with food specials (including complimentary King Cake), drink specials (including $5 Hurricanes and lots of Abita on tap), face painting and more.
FInally, if you want to be super paczki recipeambitious and tackle paczkis in your own kitchen, Pittsburgh-based blogger Brown Eyed Baker has her very own up, ready for those of you who know your way around a kitchen.
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