5 Simple Cake Flavour Ideas

Our students often say that their initial inhibition on starting their cake business came from their confusion about what flavours to offer their customers.

They thought they had to learn all these complicated cake recipes to excel as a cake business.

What if I tell you that you can start your business with ONE cake recipe and ONE cupcake recipe, with options for flavour variations?

It is as simple as that :) Let's talk about Cake Flavouring today.

Cake Flavour Idea 1 - Vanilla Sponge Cake

A good Vanilla Sponge is a must have in your menu. The flavour of the vanilla needs to be evident, luxurious and distinct. For this, I recommend skipping artificial vanilla extract/essence and instead using a good quality Natural Vanilla Paste in your recipe. This might be a bit more expensive than vanilla extract but the taste is noticeably different. This will elevate your cake to another level.

Simple Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe

Step 1 - Beat (with electric hand-held or stand mixer) 230gm butter with 200 gm caster sugar for 5 minutes until creamy.

Step 2 - Add 4 large eggs and 1 tbsp vanilla paste, Beat for 2 minutes until egg is whipped up in volume too.

Step 3 - Add 230 gm Self raising flour and beat for 15 seconds. Don't over beat. Mix rest with spatula

Step 4 - Bake in 160 degrees preheated oven for 23 minutes (or until a skewer inserted comes out clean) in two lined and greased 8 inch sandwich tins. If baking in deep cake pans, you would need to bake for longer, say 40 minutes.

Cake Flavour Idea 2 - Chocolate Sponge Cake

Another classic flavour which is a must in your menu. You can simply transform any vanilla sponge recipe to chocolate sponge by replacing some flour with cocoa powder. As a guide you can replace 15%-17% of flour in any vanilla sponge recipe to cocoa powder to make chocolate sponge cake.

Cake Flavour Idea 3 - Marble Cake

This is simply a mix of vanilla batter and Chocolate batter. This flavour combination offers the best of both worlds.

Flavour idea 4 - Exotic flavour, Pistachio and Rose

You can transform your vanilla sponge recipe to a Pistachio sponge by simply replacing vanilla paste with Rose water, and adding 2 tbsps of chopped pistachio and 2 tbsp dried rose petals to your batter. As simple as that! 

For detailed recipe - Check Out our Pistachio Rose Cake Recipe here

Cake Flavour idea 5 - Seasonal Fruit Cake

Here you can offer seasonal fruit flavours to your vanilla sponge cake. You can use vanilla paste or replace with any fruit extract for that matter. Try incorporating dried fruits like apricots, mango or fresh fruits like blueberries in your cake base too. You can infuse further fruit flavouring as fruit compote/jam/conserve in your buttercream too (think mango puree, berry compote, lemon curd)

Likewise, You can curate your Cupcakes menu too.

It is always a great idea to have some Eggless options as well in your menu to consider your vegetarian customers.

Baking is the most important skill to master as a cake artist.

A cake should always look better than it tastes.

Knowing just a recipe isn't everything. Baking is a science!

Learning the 'Science of Baking' can transform your baking game regardless of any recipe you follow.

Learn the Science of Baking - How to prepare ingredients, cake tins, how to prepare ovens and Baking making videos (with eggs and eggless cakes & cupcakes) >> Check out our Science of Baking Online Class 

What we learn;

• Science of baking - how to prepare oven, cake pans, and ingredients for flat top, even, moist bakes
• Perfect Sponge Cake 
• Perfect Cupcakes
• Eggless Sponge Cake
• Eggless Cupcakes
• Flavour Variation Options
• Recipe booklet and support

If you have any questions, do let me know :)

Much love,

Neetha