Bywater Bakery has been serving tasty treats and a savory breakfast since 2017. Owners Chaya Conrad and Alton Osborne are cranking out king cakes for a short but busy season.

Chaya Conrad is the inventor of the famed Berry Chantilly Cake that originated at Whole Foods, and its Rouse’s counterpart, the Berry Gentilly Cake. She was working as the bakery director at Whole Foods when she came up with the idea, but after years in the corporate world, she was ready for something new.

Conrad and her husband, Alton Osborne, opened Bywater Bakery.

“We live in the neighborhood, and we had a vision of what we wanted the bakery to be,” said Osborne on the opening of Bywater Bakery. “We bought the bakery equipment before we had the space. [Business partner] Steve Walkup had a space that was a former art gallery and he offered it to us for the bakery.”

Since opening, Bywater Bakery has become so well-known for its king cakes that it shuts down all other baking operations to focus solely on the sweet treats throughout the Carnival season. It makes sense when you consider that this spot sells over 10,000 king cakes of many different varieties every season.

“During the season we are working in the bakery 24 hours,” Osborne said. “Everything is done in-house and by hand. It’s all fresh; nothing out of a bucket. It’s a big production and a big feat.”

Every week, Bywater Bakery offers a specialty flavored king cake, five other sweet cakes, and three savory cakes. They have a traditional king cake that substitutes cinnamon for ooey gooey butter schmear made with a mix of cream cheese, butter, brown sugar, and powdered sugar, making it stand out from other traditional king cakes. Other sweet cakes include Blueberry, vegan Bourbon Cinnamon, Chantilly, Pecan Praline, and Frangipane (Almond Cream). The savory cakes include Crawfish, Boudin, or Spinach Artichoke stuffed into garlic bread, smothered in garlic butter, rolled into a king cake, and topped with parmesan cheese dyed purple, green, and gold.

The unfilled traditional king cake is $30, filled king cakes are $35, and the Chantilly king cake is $37. Savory king cakes are $45. All cakes are available by the slice; sweet slices are six dollars, and savory slices are nine dollars.

In addition to pastries, Bywater Bakery has a savory breakfast menu to satisfy morning cravings. Osborne, who runs the kitchen, said that he knew the bakery had to offer a delicious breakfast to appeal to a broader audience.

He said, “Being so deep in our neighborhood, we have a lot of regulars that we see every day, but we also want to be a destination spot.”

Selections include Breakfast Gumbo made from Osborne’s Seventh Ward family recipe with chicken-andouille filé gumbo with scrambled eggs served over grits instead of rice, typically found in traditional gumbo; and Tofu Scramble, which is vegan and gluten-free and made with turmeric and garlic-marinated tofu scrambled with bell peppers, mushrooms, onions and spinach over stone-ground grits. These breakfasts are served in a “go cup” style for customers who want to stop in and grab a quick easy meal.

The menu is rounded out with a Cuban Sandwich made with ham, cochon-de-lait, Swiss cheese, mustard, and mayo, served on pressed house-made French bread and a selection of other sandwiches on croissants, Yaka-Mein, and a breakfast platter.

In addition to the regular menu, Bywater Bakery has “Bagel Fridays” that feature a selection of bagels such as Everything, Poppy Seed, Sesame, and Asiago. Bagels can be ordered plain, with a schmear, or with bacon, egg, cheese, or lox.

While sandwiches and pastries, besides king cake, aren’t available during the Carnival season, the “go cups” remain on the menu.

During the regular season, Bywater Bakery has live music on the weekends. Past performers include The Silver Lining Serenaders, John Boutte, Lynn Drury, and Glenn Hartman.

Bywater Bakery 3624 Dauphine Street, 504-336-3336. Open Thursday through Monday, 8 p.m. to 3 p.m.

King Cake Lagniappe: It wouldn’t be Carnival without a little something extra!

Congregation Coffee
Congregation Coffee has King cakes by Brennan’s available to pick up at Congregation’s Algiers Point café, 240 Pelican Avenue, seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Brennan’s new king cake flavor (Almond) is exclusively available for pick-up at Congregation and King Cake Hub. Additional flavors available at Congregation are Brennan’s traditional and bananas foster.

Ayu Bakehouse
Ayu Bakehouse located at 801 Frenchmen Street, has three varieties of king cake: Croissant City Classic ($36), a cinnamon-y, cream cheesey dreamboat made with local raw cane sugar; Chocolate Babka ($40), is a gooey, chocolatey, buttery babka in full king cake form; and King Muffuletta ($36), studded with olives, cheese, and Italian charcuterie, is a riff on Ayu’s beloved muffuletta breadstick.

Miss River
Miss River located at 2 Canal Street, has introduced a Cream Cheese & Pecan King Cake ($35) available at the restaurant Friday through Sunday through Mardi Gras season (plus Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras). Cakes are available for dine-on or to-go.

Saba
Saba located at 5757 Magazine Street, is serving its Classic Babka King Cake, laced with pomegranate caramel, by the slice.