State College area bakers see an uptick in demand for these trendy cakes

Vintage-style heart cakes have taken social media by storm, and bakers around Happy Valley are noticing an uptick in demand for these over-the-top creations. Shaped like hearts in varying sizes, and covered in an abundance of intricate, delicate details, these cakes hearken back to a style you’d expect to see in the 1980s or ‘90s, but that actually goes back much further. Technically referred to as “Lambeth” cakes, the style can be traced to the Victorian era.

Area bakers say they started to see an increase in inquiries about these cakes about a year ago, with varying theories as to why they’ve become popular. Heather Luse of Delectable Delights by Heather in Centre Hall said she’s had clients ask for the cakes reference similar styles showing up in popular media such as music videos. For other clients, the cakes offer a level of nostalgia, reminding them of celebratory cakes they may have enjoyed at special occasions three or four decades ago.

While the heart shape is the most popular, Paige Laratonda of Paige’s Cakes and Creations said the Lambeth style overall, regardless of shape, is gaining traction.

“It’s that intricate piping work with buttercream,” she said. “The style — whether it’s a heart or round cake or even a square sheet cake — is definitely really popular. I thought it might go away, because it’s kind of an old-timey, vintage or antique style, but it’s definitely back.”

Mary Hilliard at Dolce Vita Desserts agreed.

“They are definitely back and very popular,” she said. “We started offering them a few months back after repeated requests for them. They are now part of our signature line and can be ordered directly on the website. As demand for them continues to increase, we have added the heart shape in two sizes — eight inches and 10 inches — as well as round — six inches, eight inches and ten inches — and as a wedding cake — two or three tiers.”

While these cakes’ exteriors may be extravagant, the cakes’ interiors are generally the same, standard flavors bakers consistently see (though Luse did note she’s seen a slight increase in interest in red velvet, and that sometimes clients choose to pair this vintage style with a similarly vintage flavor, like cherry chip).

As is the case with most social media-fueled trends, though, the vintage heart cake trend is not without its drama. As select Walmart locations across the country jumped in on the fad, offering Lambeth cakes, some bakers on TikTok spoke out against the chain, saying that it’s taking away business from small bakers — with some even going so far as to imply that birthday cakes are a luxury rather than a need, and if a customer can’t afford to pay an independent baker, perhaps they should skip this trend.

Luse called that response “awful.”

“There are some really nice grocery store cakes. I’m not going to say mine’s better, just different,” she said.”[Clients] come to me because they like my cake. A lot of people like Walmart or grocery store cakes and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

Laratonda agreed: “You have to laugh at it. I personally have no complaints against Walmart cakes. I actually think they taste good, so I would never fault anyone for that. Our prices do tend to be more, as home bakers or small bakeries. ... Some people have that budget and it’s no problem.”

As the vintage heart cake trend has been around for a while at this point, bakers also acknowledged a few other, less popular thus far but still up-and-coming trends they’ve noticed.

“I think the next trend will be narrow, rectangular cakes,” said Tatiana Polay, owner of The Cakeshop by Tati, where she’s been offering vintage heart cakes and is now offering this smaller, new cake size for Easter. “That’s something that’s becoming popular right now. ... They’re very floral and instead of a quarter of a sheet [cake], it’s more like a 16th of a sheet. It’s very narrow.”

Luse likewise said she’s seen this trend popping up in bridal magazines.

However, given vintage heart cakes’ continued longevity, it seems unlikely that they will be completely replaced any time soon — and, as such, all the above mentioned bakers are continuing to accept orders for these works of edible art.