People love cakes. Doesn't matter the type. And they love baking them. Cake will always be a comfort food.
That doesn't mean people want their cakes filled with junk.
Anne Byrn, author of "The Cake Mix Doctor" books, says she has noticed a change in what her baking students across the country want.
First, they want to know how to make cakes with healthier ingredients.
"I think we've learned that you can enjoy great desserts but that there are substitutions you can make that don't sacrifice flavor and still give you that same rich experience and mouthfeel."
People don't want to give up their desserts, but they don't want to feel guilty about eating or serving them.
"Especially people with families," Byrn says.
Family means birthdays, which translates into more cake and desserts around the house.
"People are trying to figure how they can make a cake and still accommodate someone in the house who, say, needs to watch their cholesterol," she says.
Another trend: She's seeing a lot more 20-year-olds getting into baking. And more young men. Teen boys asked to be her apprentices at baking classes in Texas and Chicago.
"I think Food Network has had a big effect on young boys," she says.
Many of the new 20-year-old bakers are graduating from college with no job, she says. They like to bake, but they're not married yet, and it's a way of socializing with their friends. Most have never been to a cooking class and their mothers and fathers worked, so they never got a cooking lesson at home.
"Or they're new to an office and they've found their niche as the baker for the office," she says. "They bring the birthday cakes."
The big thing among young bakers: "They're broke," Byrn says, and they're clamoring for baking recipes that require fewer ingredients. Simplicity is part of the reason, but cost is a bigger factor. "If there are too many ingredients and it's too expensive, they're not going to attempt it."
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