LITTLE ROCK — Mardi Gras is a New Orleans tradition that has slowly crept into neighboring states. Nearly every state touching the borders of Louisiana has a parade at some point in the pre-Lenten days.

The celebration is meant to be one of feasting and parties before the somber and self-sacrificing day of Ash Wednesday and the days of Lent that follow. Traditionally a holiday time for Catholics, the parades and parties are typically an event that every religion can endorse.

Another Mardi Gras tradition gaining popularity outside of Louisiana is the King Cake.

Though they're typically consumed between Epiphany, also called "Twelfth Night" and Fat Tuesday, general manager John Sproles of Community Bakery says he'll sell them year round.

"We sell hundreds of them during the season," he added.

The cake is a pastry that's doughnut-shaped and a cross between coffee cake and French bread. The more decadent varieties are filled with cream cheese or fruit compote - or both. The cake is frosted in the colors of Mardi Gras - green for faith, gold for power and purple for justice.

A small plastic baby inserted in the cake has many different interpretations - but most agree the baby represents Jesus.

"Whoever finds the baby inside the slice has the lucky honor of providing the King Cake for the next party," which he jokingly admits sounds like a baker's trick to sell more cakes. Though baking a plastic baby in a cake sounds like a melted mess just waiting to happen, Sproles said that's not an issue.

"It doesn't get hot enough to melt it. Plus, they're designed to [be cooked]. We've tested them, too," he said.

As for choking hazards, he's not too worried about customers biting down on a baby by mistake.

"People who are familiar with King Cakes know there's a baby in there, and they're looking for it," he said.

But some of his customers like to use that information to play tricks on others.

"We have people ask us not to put a baby in there, because that's like a joke," he said. Other customers play the trick in the other direction.

"We also have people who ask us to put extra in there."

Taking the cake

A roundup of the King Cakes we ordered for this taste test.

Community Bakery

1200 Main St., Little Rock

(501) 375-6418

Price: $13.09 with tax

Appearance: The requisite three colors of sprinkles and sugar on top. Also came with Mardi Gras beads.

Taste: This cake had a moist French bread-meets-croissant taste, and the frosting was crunchy. Overall, it was passable, but not the bakery's best work. The baby inside was attached to a little plastic crown - probably to further avoid choking accidents.

Silvek's European Bakery

1900 N. Polk St., Little Rock

(501) 661-9699

Price: $15.32 with tax

Appearance: Not as flashy as the other cakes, it's simple, round doughnut shape called to mind a tri-colored life preserver.

Taste: This cake had a flour-y taste, and didn't consist of braided bread. Not just bread, it had a hint of cream cheese and sugar.

Fresh Market

11525 Cantrell Road, Little Rock

(501) 225-7700

Price: $6.99 before tax

Appearance: Looks like a croissant with frosting, but was topped with beads and doubloons.

Taste: When we called to place our order, the bakery offered a delicious-sounding cinnamon variety. After a bite, we decided this cake was the best bargain. The cake was sweet and closely resembled a cinnamon roll with stiff frosting. The little green baby wasn't buried in the cake, but placed in the center ring.

Randazzo's Camellia City Bakery

3501 Pontchartrain Drive, Slidell, La.

(800) 684-2253

Price: $48.95, includes cream cheese filling and shipping and handling.

Appearance: This confection looks like a king cake should. The braided bread under the frosting is clearly visible. The cake also arrived with a goody bag - beads, doubloons, a poster and a feather Mardi Gras-style mask.

Taste: King Cake perfection comes at a price. This cake, air-mailed from New Orleans, resembled that sugary breakfast treat called a bear claw, but the cream cheese filling raised it to a whole new level of decadence. This kind of perfection can't be found in Arkansas, I'm afraid. The confection came with a warning about the small plastic baby contained inside.

Mimi's Buttercream Bakery

18034 Interstate 30, Benton

(501) 778-9383

Price: $16.35 after tax

Appearance: The icing was more like a doughnut glazed, then frosted and covered in sprinkles. The cake had cinnamon-coated braids and folds that fell apart and called to mind monkey bread, but less buttery.

Taste: Probably not your traditional King Cake, but there was lots of cinnamon-roll taste. Who doesn't like cinnamon rolls? This cake was a pretty tasty rendition of the original.

We were unable to order a cake from Mama's Manna Bakery, located in Little Rock.