Top cake trends for 2026 and beyond

Cake isn’t just a bakery staple – it’s an emotional powerhouse. From birthdays to weddings, quiet moments to grand gestures, cake has long been a symbol of happiness and celebration.

But in 2026, it’s also becoming a showcase for creativity, with bakers pushing boundaries in flavour, format, and decoration.

“Cake continues to be one of the most emotive categories in bakery,” says Ross Lowrey-Heywood, development innovation manager at Finsbury Food Group. “Cakes represent joy, celebration, nostalgia and, increasingly, creativity.”

Whether it’s a swirl of miso caramel, a sprinkle of pistachio, or a flourish of vintage-style icing, today’s cakes are telling stories that span continents and cultures. So, what’s next for this ever-evolving category?

Grab your passport, we’re off to Flavourtown

Cake offers the perfect format to experiment with flavours – there’s the sponge, fillings, and decoration to play with – and bakers have been using their creative license to concoct on-trend, delicious bakes infused with tastes from across the globe.

“Flavour-wise, think anywhere from Italy to Tokyo with consumers willing to get their taste passports out to travel far and wide,” enthuses Jacqui Passmore, marketing lead West EU & AMEAP at Dawn Foods. “As a result, the cakes category is a smorgasbord of formats, flavours and influences from around the world.”

The “meteoric rise” of pistachio in cake and other baked goods, partly driven by Dubai Chocolate, is set to continue. Mintel’s Insight Report ‘Beyond Dubai Chocolate’, released in May 2025, claims its rise has driven interest in Middle Eastern ingredients as consumers associate it with luxury. While pairings with chocolate continue to be popular – Co-op recently unveiled a Dubai Style Pistachio Brownie, for example – other combinations are coming through. Cutter & Squidge added a Passionfruit & Pistachio blondie to its line-up, Patisserie Valerie is serving up a Pistachio & Raspberry Cake, while a Pistachio & Cherry Stollen Wreath has appeared in the Waitrose 2025 Christmas range.

Continuing East, Passmore expects to see “plenty more southeast Asian flavours” such as matcha, yuzu, and pandan in 2026 although perhaps “paired with chocolate to add a traditional feel”. “As well as growth in the umami notes of miso, more unusual flavours to look out for in bakery will include fermented plums and Earl Grey or Jasmine Tea infusions,” she adds.

The range at coffee shop cake supplier Cakesmiths provides several examples of these trends in action with a Blackberry & Earl Grey Cake among its line-up alongside Lemon & Pistachio Blondies, Apricot & Pistachio Frangipane, and Raspberry & Matcha Cheesecake Blondies.

While matcha, ube, pandan, and indeed pistachio bring flavour and colour to the cake category, there is continued demand for all things brown and beige.

“Core indulgent flavours like chocolate and caramel continue to dominate, but in 2026, it’s about depth and discovery, think miso caramel, smoked caramel or brown butter dulce de leche,” says Lowrey-Heywood from Finsbury Food Group.

While there is limited evidence of this in the supermarkets at present, like many trends it is gaining traction on the artisan scene. Cake maker Made by Adele’s range features a veritable feast of complex flavour combinations such as Hazelnut, Milk Chocolate & Brown Butter as well as Tahini, Caramelised Sesame & Chocolate and even Banana, Miso Caramel & Roasted Peanut.

There are some warming spiced flavours coming through in the mainstream such as in Finsbury’s Aromatic Spiced Banana Caramel Loaf (part of the range with Nadiya Hussain). The cake features spiced banana sponge with speculoos sauce, topped with caramel frosting, decorated with caramel sauce drizzle, caramel fudge cubes and cassia crumb. M&S took things to the next level with its Pecan & Salted Caramel Blondies which see nutty pecan tiffin infused with Marmite then layered with fudgy white chocolate blondie and finished with a swirl of salted caramel sauce.

Like the landscape, flavours change with the seasons meaning there is often a limited period for bakers to embrace certain flavours.

“Seasonality is central to cake innovation,” notes Dan Jones, marketing manager at British Bakels. “In autumn and winter, richer flavours like pumpkin spice, caramel and chocolate dominate, while brighter fruit flavours and tropical notes trend in spring and summer.”

Formats also have an influence on the direction as Jones adds that “celebration cakes lend themselves to bold flavours and decorative finishes, while cupcakes and loaf cakes allow bakers to experiment with seasonal or limited-edition flavours in smaller, accessible formats”.

Naked attraction vs dress to impress

Like conflicting consumer views when it comes to health and cake, there’s a divergence in the cake decoration market as well.

“Visually the trends are two-fold,” explains Natalie Douglas, Sponge Cakes director. “On one side, there’s natural and artisan decoration with buttercream swooshes, semi-naked finishes, and dried fruit or edible flowers. On the other, the focus is nostalgic fun: sprinkles, retro piping, bold colours – and these are looks inspired by fashion palettes and social media aesthetics.”

Being an online cake specialist, Sponge leans into the former when it comes to celebration cakes with bare sides and simple but effective decoration on top. Its Chocolate Caramel Fudge Cake, for example, sees a rich chocolate sponge with a layer of golden caramel and swirl of chocolate buttercream topped with triple chocolate shavings.

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Source: Cutter & Squidge

Source: Cutter & Squidge

Source: Cutter & Squidge

Source: Cutter & Squidge

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Indeed, minimalist cakes lend themselves to being posted. So much so that London-based Cutter & Squidge recently launched a new Naked Postable range. With a starting price of £45.99, the cakes come in four on-trend flavours:

• Tiramisu – chocolate sponge paired with smooth coffee buttercream, with coffee-soaked sponge fingers intertwined into the layers to add the experience of tiramisu
• Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake – vanilla sponge, layered with zingy lemon curd and blueberry all topped with a sweet blueberry buttercream, freeze dried blueberries and candied lemon
• Passionfruit & Pistachio – vanilla sponge soaked in zingy passion fruit, layered with pistachio buttercream paired with passionfruit curd and a crunchy pistachio puree
• The Chocolate Squidge – rich chocolate cake layered with chocolate buttercream and salted caramel, filled with Cutter and Squidge’s exclusive Chocolate Dream Bar (packed with honeycomb and biscuit crumbs) and topped with more buttercream, brownie bites, fudge pieces, digestive biscuits and chocolate crispearls.

Minimalist cakes don’t mean slap on some buttercream and move on, explains Fern Harman from Two Magpies Bakery, which has sites across Norfolk and Suffolk. These minimalist cakes, she notes, tend to feature muted palettes and simple forms but have “intricate detailing when you look closer”.

This could be in the way the fillings are layered, the careful placement of the minimal decorations on top, or a light sprinkling of lemon zest or perhaps salt to bring flavours to life.

In contrast, the detailing on vintage-style Lambeth cakes is visible at a quick glance with its thick frilly icing and bows. This trend has really come to the fore over the past couple of years, taking inspiration from interior and lifestyle brands, Harman highlights.

Indeed, the firm’s Lambeth Cake secured a silver medal at Britain’s Best Cake 2025 competition while an indulgent chocolate cake from Abba Cakes, with decoration inspired by Lambeth cakes, was crowned the overall champion.

“Decoration is becoming more playful, more layered and more referential,” comments Ross Lowrey-Heywood, development innovation manager at Finsbury Food Group. “Consumers are increasingly influenced by what they see on TikTok and Instagram so cakes that translate well visually are key.”

Morrisons is really leaning into this with a Vintage Heart Cake which is flagged on the retailer’s website with a big ‘As seen on social’ marker.

“We’re seeing demand for drip finishes, edible textures, colour gradients, piped messages and character details that nod to pop culture,” Lowrey-Heywood adds.

A personal touch

“Cakes are becoming more than just bakes, they’re experiences,” says Natalie Douglas at Sponge Cakes. “We’re seeing real momentum in personalisation, with customers wanting cakes that tell their story, whether that’s through edible toppers, custom inscriptions, or interactive touches.”

It also taps in nicely to the need for “experience-led eating and the desire for shareable social media content largely by Gen Z consumers”, according to Passmore at Dawn Foods. “Cakes which have a personalised, visual or interactive element – indulgent ‘oozing’ centres or ‘extra’ toppings and fillings for example are perfect matches for this trend,” she adds.

Interactivity gets even bigger over the festive season as shoppers want products with a ‘wow factor’ or added indulgence. For example, the Sticky Toffee Yule Log from Waitrose comes with a caramel sauce and sachet of sugar snow for a spot of theatre at the table, while Tesco’s Salted Banoffee Cascading Star comes with a salted caramel sauce and toffee popcorn pieces for a final flourish.

From one occasion to a host of others as there’s “real momentum” behind cakes no longer being reserved just for birthdays, believes Ross Lowrey-Heywood from Finsbury Food Group. “Shoppers are buying cakes for friends or loved ones to say, ‘thinking of you’ or ‘well done’, or to elevate a social event like a girls’ night in,” he explains.

This shift is changing how consumers shop for cake with “increased demand for personalised messaging, shareable or portion-controlled formats, and emotional resonance as these cakes feel thoughtful and symbolic (as well as being tasty)”. Personalisation, especially through messages on top of cakes, is growing fast. It’s pretty much expected for bakery chains selling whole cakes to offer this with retailers serving up ‘decorate your own’ options for customers to personalise at home.

It’s also leading to a shift in “elevated homemade” appearances for cakes as customers want products that “feel crafters, not mass produced, but still premium”, he adds.

Putting the fun into functionality

Healthy cake seems like an oxymoron but between legislation around the sale and advertisement of high fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) foods and consumer interest in functional foods, manufacturers are looking to up the nutritional benefits of their baked goods. That’s not to say the market for indulgent, over-the-top creations isn’t thriving, but the push towards healthier cakes reflects the regulatory environment and multi-faceted nature of consumers.

HFSS continues to shape how cakes are promoted and placed in stores, particularly since the ban on volume-based promotions came into force at the start of the month. This broadly means that cakes (and a myriad of other items) deemed to be HFSS can no longer be sold in England under deals such as ‘Buy One Get One Free’ or ‘three for £10’.

“HFSS legislation hasn’t dampened innovation, it’s made it more strategic and considered”

“It’s a balancing act between ensuring consumer demand for variety and indulgence is met while having a clear commitment to health, wellbeing and responsible enjoyment,” says Daryl Newlands, head of brands & marketing at Finsbury Food Group.

The restrictions have encouraged the manufacturer to “think more creatively” and embrace new ingredients, reformulation, and flavour development. This includes “dialling up season relevance” through limited-edition flavours that “offer excitement without needing lots of promotion”. However, Newlands is keen to point out that innovation hasn’t been impacted: “Crucially, HFSS legislation hasn’t dampened innovation, it’s made it more strategic and considered.”

The promotional restrictions are more likely to impact smaller portions of cakes rather than larger celebration cakes, with particular attention paid to items aimed at lunchboxes.

In a recent Q1 results for 2025, Mr Kipling manufacturer Premier Foods flagged the launch of its healthier lunchbox slices (which are said to be outside of the realm of HFSS) as one of the products which contributed to its branded division’s growth. Available in raspberry, banana, and chocolate & orange flavours, the cake slices are made with real fruit with a drizzle of icing on top.

The use of fruit is becoming increasingly common as a way to add sweetness and improve HFSS scores, highlights Passmore at Dawn Foods.

“There has been considerable focus on reducing sugar, and a significant amount of R&D resource has been focused on sourcing ingredients or alternatives to allow the reduction of processed sugar in bakery products,” she explains. “The current strategy is for using more natural sources of sweetness, so the indulgent taste of the finished product is not compromised. The interesting point with HFSS is that where sweet bakery products have a high fruit content or high fibre content, the HFSS score is reduced, and this is a point that bakers seem to be capitalising on.”

Passmore believes the shift isn’t just about HFSS, noting that “functionality has boomed this year and will continue to do so as consumers look for their foods to do even more for them”. This means baked goods, including cakes, are increasingly being fortified with high fibre grains, ferments, and protein. “This focus on functionality, even in the most indulgent of treats, will continue to grow in 2026 and beyond,” she asserts.

Soreen, for example, added an Apple & Mango variant to its range of Lift Bars at the start of the year. As well as being HFSS-compliant, the bars are advertised as containing naturally occurring B12 to combat tiredness and fatigue and provide a source of fibre.