There are A LOT of exciting and innovative trends happening in the world of cakes and cake decorating! Here are 5 trends that were on the rise in 2018 and continue to make an impact in 2019. Some of these cakes we’ve had the pleasure of mastering and some we’re hoping to create one day (hint, hint: contact us for a cake order today!).
1. Drip Cakes
Drip cakes are so named for the lovely and delicious drip technique over the top and down the sides of the cake. The drip can be done with chocolate ganache, candy melt or even royal icing – whatever you find easier! They are super fun and their popularity is still going strong. You can check out some of our signature Drip cakes on our website like our Melting Ice Cream cake (we’d be amiss to not give credit to the AMAZING cake artist, Katherine Sabbath for first originating this design and perhaps even the Drip concept itself), our Thankful cake, and our Ador-a-ball cake. These three cakes really highlight what we like best about creating Drip Cakes. You’re designing in the moment, from color to texture to drip effect — there’s a spontaneity about it unlike some more traditional cake designs. We also like the opportunity to add and combine different elements, like sprinkles, oreo pieces or cake bites to elevate the cake’s look. In our humble opinion, Drip cakes are perfect for all special occasions, be it a birthday party, anniversary or any time you’d like to celebrate!
2. Torn Paper Cakes
Torn Paper cakes are popular on the wedding circuit, keeping with the trend of being non-traditional. The “paper” displayed on these cakes can be created with thin pieces of fondant adhered to each other, wafer paper, or a combination of both to really up the texture factor. One of our favorite creators of this is Jasmine Rae Cakes out of San Francisco. Check out their amazing cakes on their Instagram @jasmineraecakes. Her cake (shown above) was featured in Paris Vogue and we love how it almost looks like a huge flower opening up. It is the complete opposite of the traditional “smooth” wedding cake and instead is a delicate, awe-inspiring cake that one could certainly call art. We’re excited at the opportunity to create our own version of the Torn Paper cakes in 2019!
3. Brushstroke Cake
Brushstroke cakes rose in popularity in 2017 and remain a staple of Instagrammable custom cakes. A Brushstroke cake is the perfect cake for a client who’s looking for a unique, modern look for their special event. The effect is created by using a paintbrush and brushing melted candy melt onto parchment paper or a non-stick surface. Once dried, these brushstrokes are then pressed onto a pre-frosted cake to create the unique textured look. We feature a Brushstroke cake on our website, but give clients the ability to customize the color palette for their cake. For us at 12 Oaks, a Brushstroke cake is a striking way to apply color and texture to create a real showstopper of a cake.
4. Anything Hand Painted
Hand painted cakes offer clients such a personal touch. The sky’s the limit in terms of design and color palette! It’s a little easier to paint on a fondant covered cake as it’s a firmer canvas to work on, but you can certainly work directly on a buttercream cake also. One of our favorite painted cakes, above, is a perfect example of how a cake can turn into art. Doesn’t that one just pull at your heart strings? There are several different brands of edible paints available and after trying a few, we tend to use Edible Art Paint. It’s the most versatile and comes in an endless array of colors. It’s so hard to not buy them all! While we haven’t had the opportunity yet to create a hand-painted cake — we’d love to make your next special event or birthday magical. Order your own custom cake here!
5. Edible “Fabric” Cakes
The newest cake trend that is in vogue? Edible Fabric cakes. Manipulating wafer paper, so that it becomes soft and flexible, gives us the opportunity to design gorgeous, avant-garde cakes. Late last year we attended a workshop to learn some tips and tricks in working with Edible fabric. It’s important to never stop learning! This was such a fun class; not only was it an amazing learning experience, we absolutely fell in love with the edible fabric and it’s endless potential. We worked on creating bows, and ruching, but with a cutout printer, stencils, and countless other tools you can create so many marvelous looks. Our favorite aspect of this cake is the contrasting of textures and colors. The top tier is soft and glamorous and the bottom tier has a more gritty feel to it. But when you put them together, they most certainly work!
These are some of our favorite current trends in the cake biz, but we can’t wait to see what the second half of 2019 holds. We’ll get to see how these cake fashions continue to evolve and what new things will be whipped up to amaze us all. Sounds pretty sweet, right?
Your sweetly,
Katherine & Missy