As winter approaches, favorite cake flavors often migrate to dark chocolate, red velvet and cinnamon, according to Datassential research, but don’t stop there. How about pumpkin spice latte (among the hottest flavors of the year) cupcakes? Melissa Trimmer, senior bakery application chef at Dawn Foods, gives a resounding thumbs-up.

“Fall flavors can go all the way through wintertime,” Trimmer says. “Through our Inspired by You program, we’re introducing new, on-trend cake flavors that will set your bakery apart from the competition.”

Formulated to deliver superior taste and performance, Dawn’s new coffee, coconut and honey cake mixes deliver exceptional flavor. All three were developed as part of Dawn’s Cake Co-Creation Project, working with four leading retail bakery customers located in four major geographic areas, and kicking off earlier this year at the Dawn Innovation Studio in Jackson, Michigan. The culmination of the project took place with the unveiling of three new Baker’s Request cake flavors at the Dawn booth during the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) in Las Vegas.

According to Dawn research, 89% of artisan bakeries would like new cake flavors, and 74% are seeking trend and recipe ideas. Using new Dawn Exceptional Baker’s Request Coffee Flavored Cake Mix, Dawn offers creative recipes for products including mocha java cake and pumpkin spice latte cupcakes. Another winter idea? Try new coconut cake mix and combine coconut with cranberry and spices for a unique treat. Or pair the honey cake mix with spices, syrups, fruits and more for holiday treats.

“Very simple designs can give you something special for the holidays,” says Trimmer.

Satin Fine Foods shows cake decorators how to make fondant bows in two sizes (large and small) using Satin Ice fondant, by visiting the Tutorials page of its website, www.satinice.com.

For show-stopping shine, Satin Ice glazes (mirror glaze, neutral cold glaze and EZ Squeeze glaze) give users of all levels a professional looking, on-trend dessert, according to Satin Fine Foods. Glazes add a smooth, glossy finish to desserts of all kinds. Satin Ice mirror glazes are available in dark chocolate or white chocolate crème flavors. EZ Squeeze glaze is available in blackberry (black), blueberry (blue), strawberry (red), mango (yellow) and lime (green).

The elegant new selection of chocolate cups from Dobla allows you to create beautiful desserts that can easily be added to your menu or next catered event. Increase the chances for someone to say, “dessert please!” by using chocolate cups that enhance the flavor of fillings and sweeten your bottom line.

Dobla offers convenient-to-use chocolate toppings, decorations and printed chocolate for any type of holiday occasion. Add instant glamour to your products with Dobla’s extensive assortment of curls, flakes and more. Perfect for winter, Dobla’s Chef Collection includes snowflakes, ice crystals, winter trees, penguins, reindeers and even chocolate oysters. The convenient Snowflake kit from Dobla contains all the decorations (snowflakes, white crushed curls, stickers) needed for 39 6-count cupcakes, 39 8-inch cakes or 47 10-pack cookies.

New from Abel & Scafer, Arcolor rolled fondant features delicious flavors and is freeze and refrigerator stable. “It rolls out without using messy powdered sugar or cornstarch,” says Julie Bashore, master confectioner. “Just roll it out or put it through a sheeter, as is. It saves you money, because the trim-off is not contaminated or dried out and can be reused.”

From Barry Callebaut, the innovative new Ruby can be turned into a glaze for dipping with a little cream and corn syrup, according to Mark Seaman, culinary applications chef, specialties. Or use beet powder for a boost to the color, as adding liquids to Ruby can mute the color. Add melted Ruby to your clear mirror glaze for a beautiful drip-style cake.

For the “dessertpreneurs” who are eager to create fall and winter dessert menus from a recipe of sweet, spicy and traditional favorites, PreGel America is shining a spotlight on some of its cool autumn flavors for the upcoming cooler season.

PreGel’s Sprint line is a collection of Cold Process complete powdered mixes that offer the quick and easy preparation of artisanal gelato, sorbetto, or soft-serve frozen desserts. Spiced to perfection with a lush combination of clove, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, create America’s favorite fall flavor pumpkin spice with this instant powdered product for creating gelato. PreGel’s Salted Caramel Sprint is an instant flavored powdered mix that recreates the popular combination of sweet caramel with the perfect pinch of salt.

In addition, variegates from PreGel are thick pastes that are ready-to-eat, with the majority of flavor options containing pieces of the actual ingredient in the mix. The diverse variegates can be folded into gelato and ice cream or used as toppings or flavorful fillings for pastry and desserts. For example, PreGel Caramelllatte Arabeschi (caramel and milk) is reminiscent of authentic dulce de leche. Luscious in texture and captivating in taste, this blend of caramel and milk is perfect for drizzling and incorporating into any dessert.

BakeMark offers innovative and flavorful ingredients under its Trigal Dorado brand, including dulce de leche (cajeta) filling, as well as creative design inspirations for poplar Hispanic holidays such as Day of the Dead.

BakeMark customer Yolanda Chavez, owner of Panadería La Central in Avondale, Arizona, starts the process of decorating cakes by tapping into her inner child and imagining candies and bright colors. The tops of her decorated cakes become creative masterpieces — full of chocolates and brightly colored sprinkles and other unique decorations at her disposal. At times, she will even decorate the tops of her cakes with brightly colored macaron cookies.

“We used to do only custom-cake orders, and now we sell cakes every day,” Chavez says. “We keep our display full of cakes every day of the week. We offer 8-inch and 10-inch rounds and cheesecakes. Customers know that we have cakes ready to go.”