Our Top 10 Baking and Cake Decorating Trends for 2018

1. Botanical Flavours

Floral notes of rose, lavender and hibiscus will be making their way into our 2018 baking, alongside savoury flavours from thyme, rosemary and basil. Added flower power brings a mysterious and subtle botanical flavour to your everyday baking, transforming a middle-road chocolate, vanilla or berry cake into something truly memorable. Top tip – lavender and vanilla is a divine combination, but go easy on the lavender otherwise your treats will risk tasting soapy!

2. Cocktail Hour

Bye bye bartender, in 2018 cocktails and spirits won’t be limited to happy hour! We’re seeing more and more booze-infused treats on our radar, from Pimm’s marshmallows to espresso martini ice-cream. So go on, add a little G&T to your next boozy baking adventure – one for the cake, one for you!

3. Piled high

2017 took cake decorating to the extreme, with the Instagram baking community vying to outdo each other with towering layer cakes and intricate buttercream masterpieces.  Next year we’ll see a gradual move away from this structural decadence towards a more organic, ‘undone’ aesthetic. Think elegant piles of fresh fruit tumbling down from mountains of meringue and waves of whipped cream – the more movement, the better!

4. New Wave Cookies

We know, we know, cookies may not seem like anything new, but prepare to broaden your baking horizons! Add a little intrigue to your boring biscuits in 2018 with the use of alternate flours, flavours and brand new techniques. We’re seeing jumbo cookies, gooey cookies and a return to the humble choc chip variety, but far less sweet and with far more complex flavours. Don’t forget a dash of Queen Vanilla Extract – it will enhance the sweet, buttery notes and balance the earthiness of any chocolate. We especially love the new “tray bang” style of crinkled cookies made famous by Sarah Kieffer – simply bang the pan a few times during baking to produce those crispy rippled edges and a soft and chewy centre.

5. World Traveler

With so many incredible flavours at our finger tips, a little exploration can open us up to a whole new world of baking (literally). We’re seeing bakers take on beautiful and traditional cultural dishes, all while adding an inventive or modern spin on these incredible treats. Yotam Ottolenghi has finally entered the dessert sphere with his book co-authored with Helen Goh, “Sweet.” We’ll soon see a surge in bakes with rosewater essence (see ours here), pistachio, lemon, saffron, walnut, fig and cardamom – fragrance is back baby!

6. Buried in berries

A new year means a fresh start, and 2018 brings with it a whole new level of freshness in cake decorating! Jewel-like berries add a stunning finish to your bakes without the worry of perfect symmetry or flawless icing. An avalanche of juicy berries is the easiest way to add an elegant, modern touch to a classic vanilla sponge or simple layer cake. Shout out to our Russian friends on Instagram for bringing the top-to-toe berry trend to our attention!

7. Nostalgia

Aussie nostalgia is back in a big way, and we’re all hungry to revisit those old-school bakery vibes with finger buns, neenish tarts, wagon wheels and honey jumbles. If SBS Food’s #bringbacktheclassics is anything to go by, we’ll be digging even deeper into Mum’s old recipe books right through until the end of 2018. Hot tip – Australia Day is going to be BIG cake-wise this year 😉

We’ve been in Aussie kitchens for 120 years, so here at Queen we are no strangers to this trend! Visit our Nostalgic Aussie Baking collection for some delicious classics, childhood favourites and a few very inventive mashups.

8. Loafing around

We’re noticing that bakers are more curious than fearful of yeast these days, with the realisation that bread making isn’t as hard as it’s cracked up to be (pun intended). Along with the slow food movement, we now appreciate that a little proofing patience will deliver a stunning, simple bread that is perfect with morning coffee and a smear of proper homemade jam. On our to-dough list here at Queen is a chocolate filled brioche, buttery Danish pastries and all things layered, braided and sweet – watch this space!

9. Edible art

A feast for the eyes (as well as the stomach!), cake transfers will push all the boundaries of customisation in 2018. While there is no denying the talent it takes to create a hand-painted masterpiece, we’re seeing this edible art form adapted into transfers that cut down decorating time, whilst maintaining an intricate level of detail. This style is limited only by imagination, so expect to see some incredibly elaborate icing designs – we predict tropical leaves and bright florals will flood our Pinterest boards!

10. Better for you

Healthy baking has transcended from a trend into the “new normal”, with even major food magazines injecting the odd healthy treat into their sugar coated pages. No longer a novelty, we’re seeing more and more bakers swap or incorporate healthy ingredients into their recipes. From yoghurt and coconut cream to chickpeas and zucchini, this trend is firmly here to stay in 2018!

This time last year, we predicted edible flowers, meringues and galaxy icing to be among the top trends for 2017. Judging by a quick scroll through our Instagram feed, we believe our crystal ball to be highly accurate!

So if you haven’t already, be sure to join our Queen Baking club to receive our monthly e-news and free eBooks. Who knows what trends will make their way into our recipes next year!