Pie artist Jessica, @thepieous, shared with us that those hoping to be ‘cutting edge’ bakers will always be a step behind if they only ever look to other bakers for design or flavor inspiration.

“Look to inspiring visual elements that have nothing to do with baking and to flavors outside the traditional realm of baked goods, and think about ways that you might be able to incorporate those disconnected elements into your work,” she told Bored Panda via email.

Jessica suggested that these bakers observe various trends in the worlds of fashion, music, nature, travel, patterns, colors, and elsewhere. Bakers should not feel like they can only take inspiration from others in their field. 

“Follow non-baker artists online. Sample flavors from cultures other than your own. Go on walks around your neighborhood and take pictures of interesting shapes and textures you find out in the world. Keep a physical or digital scrapbook of your visual inspirations and a journal of the flavors that really resonated with you. Then, when it comes time to develop your own new recipes and designs, you’ll have plenty to inspire you without having to worry about rehashing existing, played-out trends!”

Meanwhile, Bored Panda was interested in Jessica’s take on what bakers can do to stand out with photos of their projects in a sea of talented bakers around the world. In the pie artist’s opinion, the question isn’t as straightforward as it might seem.

According to Jessica, standing out or going viral online “does not always equate to success in your business as a baker.” This holds particularly true if your clientele is entirely local. There might be a disconnect between your online fame and how your business grows in the physical world.

Instead, she suggested first looking at what your goals are for your business and then developing your online strategy based on them. Doing research on the market and your target audience is vital for any business—baking included!

“If you operate a traditional brick-and-mortar bakery or a wedding buffet catering service in a local market, you may not see a rise in business, even if you develop a crazy new cake trend that goes mega-viral on Reddit or TikTok!” Jessica explained to Bored Panda.

“First, figure out where your specific customer base actually hangs out online and what kind of content they enjoy consuming. Then, look at your competitors in the space who are really succeeding at reaching this market, and start a doc jotting down all the things you notice them doing with their social presence.”

Jessica shared some of the important questions business owners ought to ask themselves when evaluating their competitors’ work and online presence: “Are they posting cake images with a different solid color background and a little share-worthy text overlay? Are they posting video clips with the baker giving fun tips each day? Are they writing little stories to go along with each post? Are they posting at certain times of the day? On certain platforms only? Do they run giveaways or collabs with local businesses? Do they spend a lot of time engaging with every commenter?”

She suggested that, first, business owners start by emulating the formats that they know work for at least three months, and then they must decide if they want to stick to the strategy or pivot.

“At the end of the day—beyond the basics of just using natural light, a tripod for your iPhone, and a clean backdrop for your photos—reaching your audience online is not so much about finding the viral gimmick that will make your pictures stand out from the pack as it is about consistent, authentic community engagement!”

Feel free to check out Jessica’s online baking courses at ‘PieSavvy,’ as well as her book ‘Pies Are Awesome.’ In the meantime, don’t miss out on her latest pie art posts on Instagram!

To say that the r/Baking subreddit is popular would be a bit of an understatement. The online group has been growing by leaps and bounds over the years.

Back in 2021, the first time Bored Panda covered this fab community, it had 642k members. Now, at the time of writing, the community boasts a jaw-dropping 2.3 million members. It goes to show how a supportive space and gorgeous photos can create a thriving niche on the internet.

The subreddit presents itself as a place “for all your baking needs.” From recipes and ideas to questions and anything and everything related to baking. “Cakes, cookies, pies, tarts, muffins, scones, breads, rolls, biscuits, cheesecakes, snack bars, etc. are all welcome!” the moderators share. They also invite anyone who wants to help them manage the community to reach out to them via Reddit.

Even though the community is incredibly welcoming, all the members are expected to uphold a very high standard of conduct. For example, there’s to be no spam, no self-promotion (though YouTube links are allowed once per week per user), no posting memes, and “no glorifying, praising, or promoting stand mixers.”

The rules are very clear, and they help keep the subreddit healthy and focused on the topic we’re all there for—baking!

A while back, Bored Panda spoke to talented Canadian cake designer Darci, the founder of ‘Kake by Darci.’

During an earlier interview, she explained to us that it is important to understand the established rules of baking first and only then start breaking them. In short, if you’re serious about the craft, it really helps if you first learn how every ingredient you add affects the baking process.

“Baking is a science. Every ingredient has a purpose. Leaveners provide lift. Gluten/flours provide structure. Eggs [act as] binders. Liquid/oils [provide] moisture. Sugars [give] tenderness and sweetness,” Darci listed how some of the different ingredients can affect the end result of whatever you’re trying to bake. 

Cake designer Darci also pointed out to Bored Panda some of the main mistakes that she believes beginner bakers often make. According to her, one of these errors is adding the ingredients in the wrong order. “All of these small factors can make or break the cake!” she said that it’s essential to be patient and precise.

On top of that, the cake designer said that you have to carefully weigh your ingredients. Moreover, you should do your best to neither over-mix nor under-mix your ingredients. Darci from ‘Kake by Darci’ said that she personally prefers simple designs and details.

“I feel like you can have a beautiful cake and go overboard with too much—flowers, candy, colors, textures. It can be a fine line between too much and not enough,” she said.

The key thing to remember is that no matter what new skill you’re starting to learn, whether that’s baking or juggling or horse-riding, try not to take your mistakes personally. Mistakes are a part of the learning process. You have to do your best to embrace them and learn from them.

If you’re ever feeling overwhelmed or overstressed, a good dollop of humor always helps. There’s nothing like laughter to pick you up after your latest baking disaster leaves your ceiling covered in dough.

Then, there's always a friendly online community or two you can turn to vent or ask for advice!

Which of these fabulous baked goods caught your attention and made your stomachs gurgle the most, dear Pandas? Which pics would you love to take a big bite out of if you could reach through your screens? What do you personally love baking the most at home? What are your go-to recipes?

We’re always happy to hear from you! So, if you have a moment to spare, why not scroll down to the comment section and share a few thoughts with everyone?