This Chain Made Dr Pepper King Cake for Mardi Gras

Most of my news articles boil down to “isn’t it great we’ll all be able to get this soon!” Some articles are closer to “isn’t it terrible we can’t all get this?” Today’s news falls into the latter category, but I’m hoping we can make enough noise to change that. Dr Pepper king cake is available if you’re lucky enough to live near Louisiana. Before we tackle the soda-infused cake that got everyone’s attention, let’s go over some basics.

What is Rouses?

Rouses Markets is a chain of Southern supermarkets; most Rouses’ locations are in Louisiana, but the brand has expanded into Alabama and Mississippi as well. The supermarket chain has offered king cakes since 1963. This year, Rouses produced over half a million king cakes for Mardi Gras season. With nearly 20 flavors in their 2026 lineup, there’s no shortage of options—whether you’re local or not.

That’s right, select Rouses’ king cakes are available for shipping! (Tragically, the topic of today’s news piece is not on that list.) Still, if you want an authentic Mardi Gras dessert straight from Louisiana, Rouses will ship you a traditional or filled king cake. If “filled” got your attention, here are all the fillings available to you: Strawberry, Pecan Praline, Apple, Bavarian, Lemon, Cream Cheese, Strawberry Cream Cheese, and Apple Cream Cheese.

In addition to the traditional and filled king cakes offered by Rouses, there’s also a batch of “gourmet” flavors offered only in stores. Rouses’ 2026 gourmet king cake flavor lineup includes Churro, Wedding Cake, Bananas Foster, Funfetti, Tres Leche, S’mores, Cookie Dough, Brownie, and (for the first time) Dr Pepper.

So what’s this Dr Pepper King Cake all about?

Per Rouses’ Facebook announcement, the Dr Pepper king cake features a Dr Pepper-flavored filling and a topping of edible pearls above a layer of Dr Pepper-infused icing. Every Dr Pepper king cake sits atop a custom cake board designed by New Orleans artist Becky Fos. And, as the proverbial icing on top, each cake also comes with a Dr Pepper bead necklace.

As stated earlier, the Dr Pepper king cake is not available for shipping—but I’d sure like it to be. If you think Rouses should offer their Dr Pepper king cake for national shipping in the future, hop in the comments here on Sporked and let them know.