It is no secret that 2020 completely upended how the world thinks about celebrations, which greatly impacted the cake sector. For example, according to a Dawn Proprietary study in 2020, 65% of artisanal bakers offered individually wrapped items to meet consumer demand. Until COVID-19 is under control, Dawn believes smaller single-serve cake portions will continue to dominate the market, explains Phil DeWester, director of senior category marketing for Dawn Foods.

Another key trend for 2021 is taking classic cakes and reimaging them in indulgent ways.

“We are still in a time where many are looking for little ways to brighten their day and making cakes more indulgent is a great way to do that,” DeWester says.

This indulgence trend is particularly significant in chocolate cakes. Chocolate cake and cupcakes continue to be the top flavor among all cakes/cupcake flavors (source: Nielsen, POS Sweet Bakery), and chocolate cake is also projected to grow 2.2% over the next four years (Source: Datassential MenuTrends/Flavor, April 2020).

In 2021, chocolate cakes will be darker and richer than ever before, with bakers turning to ingredients such as black cocoa powder, activated charcoal and richer fudge.

So, what types of cakes are trending most popular? Learn more in our latest slideshow.