Amaretti’s Desserts on Old St Augustine Rd. celebrates Mardi Gras with more than just King Cakes

King cakes go back centuries to France, where they were baked for Epiphany, or King’s Day, often as a ring-shaped sweet bread with a hidden bean or trinket to choose a “king” for the day. Today’s versions, especially along the Gulf Coast, are usually a soft, brioche-style dough swirled with cinnamon, covered in icing, and decked out in purple, green, and gold sugar that symbolize justice, faith, and power. A tiny plastic baby is now tucked inside, and whoever finds it is crowned king or queen of the party and is traditionally on the hook to bring the next cake. Here in Jacksonville, Amaretti Desserts in Mandarin carries that made-from-scratch tradition into their own case, as a family-owned bakery known for its scratch-baked desserts, pastries, and locally roasted coffee at their shop on Old St. Augustine Road.