Goodbye to All That Cake: Leaving New York During a Pastry Renaissance

France, who is now a full-time pastry chef (of both vegan and non-vegan products), draws inspiration for her decor from nature, moldings and baroque architecture – “anything really old,” she says . Ingredient-wise, France’s preference is always to explore seasonal produce picked or found at the farmer’s market. A recent series of pop-ups in Los Angeles had her so enamored with local citrus that she immediately got to work on a lime-pistachio-cardamom calamansi buttercream. With 101,000 followers on Instagram, she has become something of a cake celebrity. But France has a habit of sharing photos of her life and especially of what she eats. She spends time each morning responding to DMs and maintains an open dialogue with many of her followers, sharing tips and ideas.

For some, however, dealing with this newfound notoriety may take some getting used to. At first, Clio Goodman of ByClio Bakery in Gowanus (19.4K followers) kept forgetting that she had reached Instagram fame. “I was just posting stuff,” she says, “and then I remembered: oh wait, people are actually watching this!” His first business, Puddin’, opened its doors more than a decade ago, at a time when social media didn’t have as much of a hold on the food world as it does today. It was a partnership with his private chef clients who thought his puddings would be a hit with New Yorkers. They were right. But the parameters were limiting. “Americans are so nostalgic for pudding that you can’t stray too far from the flavors,” she explains.

In 2021, Goodman was ready to experiment with other desserts. Drawing on global inspirations like Thai iced tea and yuzu, she started baking cakes. Three months and a few boosted Instagram posts later, she had a business. In January 2023, ByClio, a bakery and cafe selling cookies, brownies, and, of course, cakes, opened in Gowanus. Goodman’s decorating style is much less central to the process than that of some of the other bakers I’ve spoken to. In fact, she’ll make sure customers can have whatever toppings they want, as long as she can dictate the frosting (with a few suggestions and requests, of course). ). “I focus less on making it perfect and more on the experience you have with the cake and how you relate to it,” she says. His confections are of course beautifully glazed and covered in edible flowers, but the alchemy really comes from the unexpected flavors themselves, dreamed up by Goodman (think: coconut oolong with blackberry filling or watermelon cake with lemon curd green and guava glaze). ) or in close collaboration with customers. Goodman accepts all requests and specifications, which is especially impressive considering that in the month of March alone, she and her team baked more than 200 special-order cakes and, as the season approaches marriages, these figures are only increasing.

In addition to being an important catalyst for launching these businesses, the pandemic and its aftermath also created an environment in which people began ordering more cakes, according to the bakers I spoke with. Weddings and birthdays are of course popular occasions to celebrate, but every pastry chef receives many orders “just because”. People are more open to indulgence, Prat says, and want to commemorate all kinds of moments in a beautiful way. But also, if we’re honest, they want to post on Instagram. Bites of frosted sponge cake may be fleeting, but a rack post of your birthday, engagement, or divorce cake lasts forever.