One of the most recognizable (and delicious) symbols of Mardi Gras is the king cake. A go-to spot for king cakes in the state of California is Porto’s Bakery, which is now offering them through Tuesday, March 1.
Porto’s version features a traditional sweet bread with a touch of orange blossom water filled with a tangy vanilla cream cheese custard and topped with icing, festive crystal sugar and traditional Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday beads.
Following Fat Tuesday is the Lenten season, when many will increase their consumption of seafood. With that in mind, Porto’s is offering a seafood version of its popular potato balls. They feature the potato puree filled with a seafood ragout consisting of calamari, shrimp and scallops flavored with garlic, cilantro, lemon zest and folded in a spicy tomato sauce. It’s breaded with a panko/cilantro coating and deep fried.
The bakery was founded in 1960 by Rosa Porto and Raul Porto Sr. Porto’s Bakery traces its roots to Manzanillo, Cuba, where Rosa worked as a home economics teacher before she began to sell cakes from the family home.