It’s not a secret that North Atlanta has frequent trends, be they clothes, TikTok dances, games, and so on. This month it’s cake. Specifically, the minimalist cakes that have been sweeping multiple social media apps over the past few weeks. The round, colorful cakes with their simple icing decorations are growing increasingly popular on TikTok and Pinterest. As a result, many NAHS students have taken to the kitchen to try their hand at minimalist cakes of their own. 

Type in minimalist cake on Pinterest, and what comes up is an influx of small, round cakes. Each cake is usually all one color except for the words written in frosting across them. Those messages range from “happy birthday” to “love you” to “go away, I’m eating cake.” NAHS students have delighted in writing such messages on their cakes and sending them as gifts, the perfect present for a close friend or family member. 

According to some NAHS students, the cakes are relatively easy to make, especially if you have prior knowledge of baking. Their simple decorations make for an uncomplicated yet pretty visual. “I bake all the time, so this cake was pretty easy for me,” said sophomore Emma Goldman. “It turned out perfectly!”

Some NAHS students have personalized their minimalist cakes a little more. Instead of messages written in frosting, they have decorated their cakes with tiny flowers. “I kept messing up the frosting words, so I just made little frosting flowers instead,” said Goldman. “But I think it still ended up just as good.”

Not only has the minimalist cake trend given students an opportunity to try a new baking style, it’s also been highly enjoyable and helped bring people together. Since they’re cut off from their friends for the most part, some NAHS students have coped by baking cakes with their friends over FaceTime and then eating the cakes with their families. “My friend and I FaceTimed each other and baked minimalist cakes together,” said sophomore Debora Getahun. “Then we ate the cakes with our families. I really felt like it brought me closer to my friend and to my family.” 

As stated by the majority of NAHS students interviewed, participation in the minimalist cake trend is completely worth it. Even people who tend to ignore trends should try this one, for both their benefit and the benefit of others. Fun, family, and friends are three things that the minimalist cake trend has inspired, and that reason alone is enough to make it worthwhile for everyone.