Cake Trends: Consumer Demand, Formats, and Flavor Momentum

Cake trends are holding strong demand across consumer conversations, with 6.0% social share and +8.8% YoY growth in Tastewise tracking. That growth is not evenly distributed. Mentions climbed steadily, peaked, and then dipped slightly, which points to a market driven by spikes in occasion-based demand rather than constant everyday consumption.

Tastewise’s Category Dashboard also shows the scale behind the trend: 1,658,334 people, 5,360,743 posts, 403,010 recipes, 3,194,590 dishes, and 357,514 restaurants contributing to the cake dataset.

Cake trend overview: 

• Social conversations about Cake are up +8.8% year-over-year
• Cake holds 6.0% social share
• The top consumer need driving Cake is “tasty” (13%)
• “Celebration” (10%) and “attractive” (10%) are key drivers of Cake occasions and purchase intent

Market performance and demand signals for cake trends

Cake is still a high-volume category, but the shape of demand matters. A steady rise followed by a small decline suggests that cake trends are moving through cycles tied to seasonal events, birthdays, and social moments.

For CPG and foodservice teams, that means forecasting needs to focus on demand windows, not averages. Cakes sell differently when consumers are shopping for a celebration versus browsing for a weekday dessert.

What consumers want from cake right now

Tastewise consumer needs show cake demand is being shaped by sensory expectations and presentation.

Top needs discussed:

• Tasty (13%)
• Baked (12%)
• Sweet (11%)
• Attractive (10%)
• Celebration (10%)
• Indulgent (9%)
• Homemade (6%)

“Tasty” and “baked” ranking above “indulgent” is a useful detail. It means the cake food trend is being pulled by freshness cues and texture payoff, not only sugar cravings. “Attractive” and “celebration” sitting at 10% each also puts pressure on formats that photograph well and hold structure.

Why “attractive” changes cake product design

“Attractive” demand pushes cake toward:

• higher contrast layers (dark + light)
• glossy finishes (frosting, glaze, sauce)
• toppings that read instantly on camera (berries, pistachio, chocolate shards)

That affects both menu builds and packaged innovation. A cake that travels poorly or loses definition loses social value.

Dish performance: the winners are classic, the growth is global

Tastewise dish share shows the cake conversation is anchored in familiar products.

Most popular cake-related dishes by social share:

1. Chocolate (15%)
2. Cheesecake (11%)
3. Cookie (10%)
4. Cupcake (10%)
5. Birthday cake (8.6%)
6. Muffin (5.4%)
7. Chocolate cake (5.3%)

Chocolate and cheesecake dominate because they deliver reliability. They also support multiple formats: slices, mini portions, layered desserts, and hybrid builds.

The up-and-coming list is where the cake trends are changing fastest:

• Kataifi (+543% YoY)
• Knafeh (+198% YoY)
• Smith island cake (+133% YoY)
• Chocolate pistachio (+100% YoY)
• Sourdough cookies (+99% YoY)
• Matcha latte (+91% YoY)

Kataifi and knafeh growth at +543% and +198% is not incremental. It’s a format shift toward textural desserts that combine crunch, syrup, and dairy-based richness. That’s a different eating experience than standard sponge-and-frosting cakes.

What kataifi and knafeh growth means for foodservice

Kataifi and knafeh work because they create:

• strong texture contrast (crisp strands + soft filling)
• portion flexibility (bars, slices, cups)
• high visual payoff for social posts

Restaurants can adapt these into plated desserts or bakery cases without needing full cake decoration labour.

What kataifi and knafeh growth means for CPG

For retail, the same formats can translate into:

• frozen or chilled dessert trays
• bakery kits (assemble + bake)
• bite-size pieces with syrup inclusions

The operational question is shelf stability. Crisp texture is the value driver, so packaging and moisture control become the main constraint.

Dish lifecycle stages show where the next menu ideas are forming

Tastewise lifecycle staging shows cake innovation isn’t coming from “new cake flavors” alone. It’s coming from new formats that change how cake is made, served, and sold.

Early-stage formats are built for speed and texture

Early-stage dishes like dump cake and cruffin point to two high-potential directions.

Dump cake reflects demand for low-effort baking. It’s less about perfect decoration and more about an easy, reliable outcome. That’s a strong signal for CPG-ready shortcuts (mix-ins, tray bakes, ready-to-bake kits) and foodservice-friendly batch desserts that can be portioned fast.

Cruffins bring the opposite value. They’re a hybrid bakery format that feels premium because of texture and structure, not because of frosting work. This is a cleaner path to “special” without adding labour.

Emerging dishes push cake into snack and coffee occasions

Emerging items like apple crumble, toasted marshmallow, cinnamon toast, and macchiato show cake pulling into comfort-snacking territory.

These flavours and formats work because they’re familiar, warm, and easy to translate across channels:

• fruit + bake cues (apple crumble, plum cake) fit seasonal retail and dessert menus
• toasted + spice cues (toasted marshmallow, cinnamon toast) fit snackable bakery items
• coffee-linked cues (macchiato) expand cake into morning and afternoon occasions

For foodservice, this supports sliceable cakes, muffins, and coffee-pair desserts. For CPG, it supports portable formats and limited-time seasonal runs that don’t require consumers to learn a new product.

Ingredient performance for cake trends

Tastewise ingredient share shows the cake food trend is still powered by classic profiles:

Most popular ingredients by social share:

1. Chocolate (15%)
2. Berry (12%)
3. Strawberry (6.9%)
4. Vanilla (5.7%)
5. Frosting (4.9%)
6. Sugar (4.7%)
7. Buttercream (4.3%)

Chocolate holds the top spot in both dish share and ingredient share (15% each). That’s category stability. It also means new launches need to compete with a flavour consumers already treat as “default”.

The momentum is in modern pairings and premium cues.

Up-and-coming ingredients by YoY growth:

• Strawberry matcha (+142%)
• Matcha pistachio (+108%)
• Chocolate pistachio (+100%)
• Allulose (+80%)
  
• Caraway (+78%)
• Pistachio milk (+78%)

Strawberry matcha at +142% is a clear flavour bridge. It keeps sweetness familiar while adding colour and a “green” cue that reads as premium. Matcha pistachio at +108% and chocolate pistachio at +100% reinforce pistachio as the breakout nut profile inside the cake trends.

Where allulose fits into cake innovation

Allulose growing +80% YoY matters because cake is not usually associated with sugar reduction. This creates a lane for:

• “lighter” cake positioning without removing indulgence cues
• better-for-you bakery lines
• protein-forward or functional bakery formats that still need sweetness

This is not about making cake “healthy”. It’s about meeting the “tasty” expectation (13%) while reducing the sugar load that can limit repeat purchase.

Consumption moments for cake trends

Tastewise consumption moments show cake is performing heavily “on the plate” through social engagement, and on TikTok through high-view formats.

TikTok performance examples:

• Cat cake cutting video: 44.3M views
• “Let them eat cake” format: 17.1M views
• Scissors transforming cake: 11.1M views
• Chocolate cake mukbang: 10.9M views
• Cake colour combos: 9.2M views

These are not recipe-first moments. They are format-first moments: cutting, colour, transformation, and texture. That affects product development. A cake that creates a strong “reveal” moment is more likely to be shared.

What this means for product formats

The strongest social formats support:

• layered cakes with visible interiors
• stuffed centres and fillings
• strong colour contrast (matcha, strawberry, pistachio)
• sliceable products that hold shape

Those mechanics fit both bakery case and packaged dessert innovation.

Menu and retail translation: where the money is made

Tastewise menu snapshots show cake formats appearing across mainstream chains and dessert-led brands:

Examples:

• The Cheesecake Factory: Carrot cake ($69.95)
• IHOP: Chocolate strawberry pancakes ($8.39) with cheesecake mousse and toppings
• Dunkin’: Banana chocolate chip bread ($4.23)
• Rita’s: Strawberry shortcake concrete ($6.39) with vanilla custard and strawberry sauce
• McDonald’s: Sausage egg cheese McGriddles ($6.46) using griddle cakes for sweet-savoury crossover

This matters because the cake trends aren’t limited to “cake slices.” It’s showing up in:

• breakfast formats (pancakes, griddle cakes)
• frozen desserts (custard blends, concretes)
• portable baked goods (banana bread)

That’s where scale happens. Cakes become a flavour system and texture cue that can be applied across dayparts.

What to do with this as a foodservice team

Prioritise formats that:

• work in high-throughput kitchens
• deliver visual impact without complex decoration
• allow seasonal rotations (berry, strawberry, chocolate)

Cheesecake mousse-style toppings and layered builds are operationally simpler than full cakes, while still meeting “celebration” and “attractive” needs.

What to do with this as a CPG team

Build cake innovation around:

• flavour pairings with velocity (strawberry matcha, matcha pistachio, chocolate pistachio)
• texture formats (crunch layers, inclusions, strand-like textures inspired by kataifi)
• sugar strategy options (allulose growth at +80%)

Classic chocolate remains the volume anchor (15% share), but growth comes from premium pairings and new textures.

Kelia Losa Reinoso

Kelia Losa Reinoso is a content writer at Tastewise with more than five years of experience in journalism, content strategy, and digital marketing.