2020 CAKE TREND PREDICTIONS – WHO ACTUALLY CARES?
Some trends are a slow burn…others happen literally overnight. Sometimes, it’s just so darn hard to predict.
I was reflecting back on the biggest trends that have popped up over the years…does anyone remember the topsy-turvy cake trend? Ruffles? The incredible geode trend? And now the fault-line cake?
Like trends do, they fade in and out of popularity, but there are some trends that have really stuck around like a bad smell. The dreaded – Oops, I mean…cute unicorn trend has blown widely out of control. The drip cakes are still a customer favourite and those naked cakes are still going strong.
When brainstorming for this blog post, I thought long and hard about whether to create a 2020 cake trend prediction…
But you know what? I just couldn’t care less. Trends just aren’t my thing, and they shouldn’t be yours either. I’m officially going on the ‘anti-trend’ movement <<< and yes, I realise I sound completely over dramatic haha.
Here’s why you need to ditch the trends:
They suppress your creativity and growth
When you restrict yourself to replicating on-trend cake designs, you don’t give yourself the chance to experiment, explore other cake techniques and develop your own style.
Consequently your creativity takes a dive and your problem-solving abilities become stale and lack inspiration. You end up ‘stuck in a rut’ of mediocrity and never growing (just like Peter Pan).You don’t have a cake identity
When EVERYONE – including yourself – is creating the same on-trend cakes, your cakes all look exactly. the. same. What a yawn! You don’t have an identity within the cake industry – you just blend in with the sea of other on-trend cakes #truthbomb.
Instead of trends? I’d like to applaud originality, exploration and inventiveness.
Think for a moment about the original inventors of all those spectacular cake trends; the likes of Rachel Teufel (geode) and Camilo Murcia (fault-line) weren’t afraid to push the envelope and think outside the box to create new cake concepts.
Without these talented cake designers willing to be inventive and explore new ideas, they never would have created those on-trend cakes we love (and repeatedly copy) today.
Just think about that for a moment.
It’s time to stop replicating other people’s ideas and challenge yourself to be original. Not in the hope that it will be ‘the next big thing’, but just for the fun of it – to learn new techniques, to explore your ideas, to be different from the cake crowd and to be seen as a leader and inventor within your cake community.
Ditch the trends and become the cake designer you always wanted to be.
HERE’S 3 WAYS THAT’LL HELP YOU GET THE FEEDBACK AND EXPERIENCE YOU NEED TO CREATE THOSE GORGEOUS ‘PINTEREST-WORTHY’ CAKES:
Talk to experienced cake decorators to get honest, constructive feedback on your work (think your local cake club or local cake teachers)
Invest in online or in-person cake classes to learn new skills and refine your technique. Free videos and blog posts are great for picking up pointers and handy tips, but they can only take you so far. Investing in your education allows you to grow in leaps and bounds.
Consider approaching professional cake decorators to mentor or coach you <<< or alternatively ask for work experience at a local cake shop.
If you want valuable advice that’ll take your decorating to the next level, always turn to the professionals.
P.s. I’m still guilty of asking my Mum for feedback…but I only do it to seek approval in those moments of self doubt. Just know that I take her advice with a grain of salt, because I know I’m good at what I do and I have years of experience to back me up. Build up your cake and design experience and Trust. Your. Gut. You got this!