Design Guide: Most Popular Cake Designs of 2024

Each wedding cake that we design is completely unique to the client, venue, and aesthetic of the wedding itself. We love creating edible works of art that stand as the centerpiece of the dessert table, complementing and highlighting the wedding design. 

While each cake design is unique, there are industry trends that evolve and change the designs that are requested the most. Rustic and boho aesthetics might be popular one year, while simple, traditional designs might gain popularity the next. It is fascinating to see the wedding cake designs that come and go throughout the years, and the designs that remain constant and timeless.

This year, we are seeing trends towards modern, clean designs, as well as designs that are inspired by vintage cakes. While rustic naked cakes and cakes featuring piped mountains and trees were extremely popular even last year, this year we are seeing a shift to two kids of designs on either end of the spectrum. Many cakes that we are making this year feature bold elements and maximalist designs, with intricate piping and bright colors. However, we are also seeing a lot of simple, clean designs that allow the rest of the wedding design (especially the flowers) to shine. We are excited to share our top five most requested cake designs for 2024, and explore the design trends that we are seeing.

Most popular design: simple white frosting with clean lines

This design is the definition of timeless and has been one of our most requested designs for many years. White Swiss meringue buttercream frosting is applied so that it is completely smooth and all sides of the cake have really clean lines. The reason that this design is so ageless is that it takes on the character of the rest of the wedding design.

If the venue and aesthetic are more rustic, a cake topper featuring mountains can be added. If the wedding design is modern and sleek, a "meadow" of flowers can be arranged at the base of the cake. And if the aesthetic is light and whimsical, flowers can be arranged along each tier to look as though they are flowing down the cake. The possibilities are endless with this design, and we believe that it will never cease to be in style.

Second most popular design: vintage-inspired piping

This design has become more and more popular over the last couple of years, and it is more popular than ever in 2024! The cake is finished with frosting that is smooth, with no texture, and then intricate piping is added along the top and sides. There is a lot of variation within this design, including the piping design, adding pops of color, and piping a message on top of the cake like "Just Married". 

This design is so fun and really makes the cake an eye-catching centerpiece. It can be as unique or classic as you want, and can really be customized to fit the wedding aesthetic. As an added bonus, this retro design looks amazing on both large tiered cakes and smaller single tier cakes, so it is hard to go wrong! We are excited to see if this is a trend that will continue to grow in the coming years.

Third most popular design: textured ridges

This design features a fun play on texture that is very classic while adding visual interest to the cake. The ridges can be piped onto the sides of the cake, or can be indented into the cake using a cake spatula. Similar to the first design shown, this design is great because it can be customized to fit any aesthetic or venue.

Flowers or cake toppers can be added to make the cake fit seamlessly with the rest of the wedding design, whether it is rustic, modern, or classic. Fun frosting textures will never go out of style, and that is true for this design as well.

Fourth most popular design: bold colors

While an all-white wedding cake will always be classic, we are loving the current trend of playing with bolder colors in the cake design. Adding color to the cake is a great way to highlight your wedding colors and make a really fun statement with your dessert table. 

There are limitless ways to add colors to wedding cakes. It can be painted on to create a watercolor effect, it can be piped on in a fun design (or in buttercream flowers as you will see below), bolder colors can fade to white in an ombre effect, or whole tiers can be finished with fun, metallic colors. Adding color to your cake is a great way to add personality and fun design elements, and this is a trend that we only see growing in the future!

Fifth most popular design: buttercream flowers

Lastly, we are seeing a rise in the number of clients who choose to have buttercream flowers on their cake rather than fresh ones. This is a fun way to add not only color to the cake, but also textures that mimic the rest of the wedding design while remaining unique. Buttercream flowers are piped onto a smooth frosting base to create layers of color and texture that make for a show-stopping design moment. The flowers can be in bold colors that match the wedding design, or can be a simple white that is both stunning and classic.

When adding buttercream flowers to a cake, we pull inspiration from the bridal bouquet and other flower arrangements to make sure that the colors and flowers we create complement the rest of the wedding design. This makes each cake beautifully unique and special to the client. Buttercream flowers have been around for a while, but are just now finding their footing as a major design trend. We predict that they will continue to grow in popularity over the next couple of years.

It is so fun to see what trends are currently growing in the wedding industry, and we are so excited to see what trends will pop up in the future! Wedding cakes make such an amazing centerpiece for the dessert table, and the memories created when cutting the cake are irreplaceable. Seeing bolder colors and designs become more popular is so fun for us, as it opens up a whole new creative world to explore, and we can't wait to see what comes next!