6 viral TikTok recipes for baked goods and chocolate

TikTok is the fastest-growing social network platform of all time. The social media platform geared toward short and fast-paced video content is a great platform for creative content makers. It is used by homebakers, brands and artisanal pastry makers alike to reach new audiences around the world, interact with like-minded people and find inspiration. Not convinced yet? Then have a look at these statistics:

• TikTok is available in more than 200 countries.
• TikTok reached 1 billion monthly active users in September 2021.
• In 2020, TikTok was the most downloaded app around the world with 850 million downloads.
• The average user spends 89 minutes per day on the app and opens the app 19 times per day.
• TikTok users on Android spend more time watching content on TikTok than on YouTube.
• Gen Z makes up the app’s biggest user base: 35% of TikTok's global audience is between 19 and 29 years old, and 28% is under 18.

TikTok food hypes are usually recipes people can make at home, but consumers expect to find these options for sale as well. Offering TikTok recipes like the ones listed below are a way to win over young audiences, especially if you’re jumping on new trends quickly. A lot of restaurants, bakeries and chocolatiers are adding trending TikTok creations to their menus. The American food delivery company Postmates offered a special TikTok Treats menu, for instance. During a limited time period, they had merchants in Los Angeles make treats like pancake cereal, whipped coffee, cloud bread and bento boxes. Cleverly piggybacking on the immense popularity of those viral TikTok foods. To uncover the latest trends yourself, you luckily don’t have to be online on TikTok 24/7. Here on Taste Tomorrow you can find recent trend insights, while Puratos offers accompanying recipes to have a go yourself.

Cloud bread is just as cute and interesting as it sounds. This fluffy, airy bread resembles a soft meringue, and it often comes in cute pastel colours. TikTok videos under the hashtag #CloudBread are good for 3.2 billion views, with most posts displaying satisfying shots in which the jiggly bread is being torn open. The puffs of bread have a very simple recipe: egg whites, sugar and cornstarch. Optionally, food colouring can be used. Blue is the most popular colour, but there are also a lot of soft pink varieties or even rainbow coloured ones. Cloud bread tastes somewhat like marshmallows, but the creation is more about looks than taste. The squishy texture full of tiny air bubbles is the biggest feat of the pastry.

It’s no surprise that the cocoa bomb has become a huge trend on a visual platform like TikTok. It is an exciting way to make a cup of hot cocoa. The chocolate ball melts when hot milk is poured over it, releases a filling of cocoa powder, tiny marshmallows and sugar. The process is a feast for the eyes and the element of surprise – what’s in the cocoa bomb? – keeps TikTok scrollers invested. TikTok videos tagged ‘hot cocoa bomb’ have over a hundred million views in total. They show a huge variety in fillings and decorations, from seasonal varieties for Halloween or Valentine’s Day to a unicorn or Harry Potter themed bombs. But the basics are always the same: two chocolate domes that are stuffed with cocoa powder and fun sprinkles, fused together and then further decorated.

Recipe developer and TikTok creator Justine E describes these naturally blue-tinted cookies as ‘the best cookies she has ever made’. The cookies are like a crossover between a blueberry muffin and a chocolate chip cookie: a soft texture on the inside with a crispy exterior. Frozen blueberries are the secret behind the fascinating colour, but they also contribute to the flavour and texture of the cookies. And the recipe only calls for staple ingredients and white chocolate chips, making it highly accessible for people who aren’t regular bakers.

For this TikTok trend, creative bakers started using their focaccia dough as a blank canvas for still-life art. Using herbs, spices, vegetables and fruits, an edible landscape is created on the bread which resembles a garden. Asparagus, spring onions or chives are used as stems for flowers made out of cherry tomatoes, red onion or bell peppers. Some TikTok creators even make tiny butterflies out of carrots, which fly between the flowers. The popularity of the garden focaccia comes not just from the amazing-looking end results, but also because of the enjoyable process. The dough recipe is simple and home bakers can go especially crazy with the decoration of their focaccia. Making this a low-stakes, high-reward trend.

Anything miniature is fun, the creator of pancake cereal must have thought. Regular pancake batter is used to bake a bunch of tiny pancakes that can be eaten out of a bowl, just like cereal. The concept of this breakfast food hype is easy, just like the preparation. The fact that anyone can make pancake cereal – and will probably enjoy the process – contributes greatly to the viral potential of the recipe. The hype around pancake cereal has even led to the creation of other miniaturised cereal foods, such as donut cereal and croissant cereal. Sydney Melhoff, the inventor of pancake cereal, is now using her channel for nothing but creating small baked goods cereal hybrids, from tiny pies to mini hamburgers and teensy cookies.

Another breakfast that took TikTok by storm is baked oats. Healthy oats have had a makeover by baking them in the oven, which makes them resemble a cake. The idea of starting the day with dessert appears to be very appealing, with videos dedicated to baked oats receiving over a billion views. The recipe is simple with oats, milk, banana, egg and baking powder as a basis. Creators then play around, adding cinnamon, peanut butter, fruit or cocoa powder. In those cases, baked oats remain a healthy breakfast option. But other TikTok videos also use chocolate chips, caramel or fudge, in which case the oats become indulgent treats.