bake - December 2016 - 20

year for the transition to non-PHO shortenings. Mitch

usher in a wide range of color trends that cake deco-

Riavez, a certiﬁed master baker and national account

rators need to be keenly aware of. One example is

manager for Stratas Foods, explains that Stratas

chalky pastels with unﬁnished edges and imperfect

Foods has introduced a number of PHO-free short-

textures that become part of a worn, shabby but

ening solutions for bakers. Stratas offers Flex, which

familiar style. Colors are muted yet contemporary.

creates either palm or soy based shortenings that

"You'll start seeing more chalky pastels in 2017," Sisson

function more like partially hydrogenated shortening.

says. The "Fresh Traditions" trend story, according

Golden Flex is a new line of zero-trans shortenings

to Lucks, is driven by the rising cost of city living for

made with high oleic soybean oil and the ﬂex tech-

young creatives, who are moving to the edge of urban

nology. Riavez says that bakers seeking drop-in solu-

areas to create subcultures of urban inﬂuence. Cake

tions, particularly for icings and laminated doughs,

decorators are moving between city and suburbs in

can ﬁnd it with Golden Flex.

their cake designs, and this brings a combination of
grit and beauty into the design process. Painting on

During an IBIE presentation, Riavez explained the

cakes also falls into this trend.

beneﬁts in sheer economics. Every dollar more a
baker spends on shortening equates to one penny in

Other notable cake trends for 2017 include the use of

added food cost. Add that to being able to transition

emojis, candies and cereals, Sisson says. The popu-

successfully to non-PHO shortenings without having

larity of drip drizzle cakes is expected to grow, as well

to reformulate your products, he says, and the bene-

as youthful, succinct messaging like "HBD" on cakes,

ﬁts are obvious. Plus, the new federal rules are not

rather than "Happy Birthday."

voluntary; they are mandatory. "If you sold every cake
for 50 cents more, you'd pay for your shortening," he

Expanding Use of Fondant

says. "To me, as a baker, I'll spend that extra money

Fondant for cakes has been around for decades, but

every day because it works."

now cake decorators like Anne Heap are promoting
a new idea: fondant cookies and accents. The owner

Cake Trends for 2017

of Pink Cake Box Custom Cakes in Denville, New

On the cake decorating front, Heather Sisson, vice

Jersey, recommends using fondant on top of deco-

president of customer relations at Lucks Food

rated cookies to make clean, colorful, eye-popping

Decorating Company, says that the new year will

designs.
"One of the things I love so much about using fondant
is that you are able to put your own stamp on it and

"You'll start seeing more chalky
pastels in 2017."
Heather Sisson, vice president of customer relations at Lucks Food Decorating

make more money," she says. "There are so many
things you can do that will increase your proﬁtability."
Another useful trick is to use fondant to make cake
toppers ahead of time, like a fondant bluebird that
you can place on top of a decorated cake. You can
also make custom ﬂower-shaped cookie cutters so
"you have something nobody else has."

20 < DEC 2016 | bakemag.com
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