Sweet Seasonal Treats

Hostess Brands Inc., Lenexa, Kan., greeted the holiday season with limited-edition treats.

New offerings include Hostess Holiday CupCakes, a fluffy yellow cake and a signature crème filling, topped with white frosting and red sprinkles, available in eight-count, 11.57oz multi-packs as well as two-count, 2.89oz single-serve packages for on-the-go snacking. Also new are Holiday Chocolate Drizzle Baby Bundts, a soft chocolate cake topped with a delightful chocolate drizzle, available in eight-count, 10oz multi-packs.

Restaurant to Retail

Junior's Restaurant and Bakery, Brooklyn, N.Y., partnered with Mondelez to create a new OREO Cheesecake for both retail and foodservice channels.

Officials say it blends OREO cookies into Junior's Original New York Style Cheesecake recipe. It’s all baked into a crispy OREO cookie crust and topped with an OREO wafer, buttercream, and chocolate fudge frosting.

The refrigerated cheesecakes are available at select retailers nationwide as 6-inch cakes, 7-inch cakes, or as "Little Fellas," Junior's classic miniature cheesecakes. They’re also sold at Junior's Restaurant & Bakery locations as well as other select foodservice venues.

Fall Fun

Nothing Bundt Cakes, Dallas, partnered with The Hershey Company for a limited-time, pop-up flavor: Bundtlet Full O' REESE'S PIECES. The Chocolate Chocolate Chip cake was topped with mini REESE'S PIECES and filled with even more candies. The personal-sized Bundt Cake was available nationwide from Oct. 23 through Nov. 5.

"We created this sweet partnership to delight our guests by combining two favorite treats in one this Halloween season," said Claire Jessen, senior director of culinary innovation at Nothing Bundt Cakes. "Our Bundtlet Full O' REESE'S PIECES combines the irresistible taste of our Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with America's favorite Halloween candy."

Nothing Bundt Cakes is the nation's largest specialty cake company, with more than 525 franchised and corporate “cakeries” in 40-plus states and Canada.

Nostalgic Flavors 

This spring saw Café Valley, Phoenix, introduce Mott's 12-count Mini Muffins and Hawaiian Punch 16oz Ring Cakes in collaboration with brand owner Keurig Dr. Pepper. Officials said the Ring Cake features tropical flavors such as orange, pineapple, passionfruit, guava, and papaya; and comes topped with coarse sugar.

"We are thrilled to partner with Mott's and Hawaiian Punch to include nostalgic flavors households love and enjoy," said Brian Owens, Café Valley CEO. "Adding these celebrated brands to our variations of Mini Muffins and Ring Cakes as easy, on-the-go baked goods expands Café Valley's potential, and we couldn't be more excited to share that with our fans."

Tasty Twist

This November saw Bimbo Bakeries USA, Horsham, Pa., introduce Entenmann's Donut Cakes, billed as a twist on an old-fashioned donut with baked snack cake. They come in two flavors: Cinnamon & Sugar and Double Chocolate Chip.

"At Entenmann's, we are constantly exploring new ways our fans can enjoy our beloved baked goods. Our research shows that consumers are looking for indulgent, individually wrapped snacks for on-the-go snacking, so we wanted to deliver in the sweetest way!" said Richard Link, senior director of marketing. "Our latest innovation, Entenmann's Donut Cakes, are truly the perfect blend of an old-fashioned donut with a modern twist, and we can't wait to hear what our fans think."

Donut Cakes come in boxes of six and are individually wrapped for freshness and on-the-go convenience. They contain no high fructose corn syrup or artificial colors.

Fall Flavors

Los Angeles-based SusieCakes, a bakery chain with units in California and Texas, joined fall fun with limited-edition Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) Cupcakes.

"Autumn is our customers' favorite time of the year, and they eagerly await our fall seasonal menu, featuring everything from pecan and apple crumble pies to pumpkin cheesecake and a delectable cranberry orange cake," said Susan Sarich, SusieCakes founder and CEO.

Sarich says SusieCakes' Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcake ($4.75 each) is a pumpkin cupcake, filled and frosted with pure coffee buttercream and topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar. Other new fall offerings included a Pumpkin Maple Cupcake in October and cream cheese frosted Pumpkin Cupcake in November.

Let Them Eat Cake

This fall brought several new cake dessert offerings from MOD Super-Fast Pizza Holdings, LLC, Seattle.  

In August, it brought back its Strawberries & Cream No Name Cake, a vanilla cake with a creamy strawberry filling, white chocolate strawberry coating with sugar crystal sprinkles on top. In September, MOD announced the limited time debut of its Pumpkin Spice No Name Cake with a fluffy, spiced cream filling, covered in white chocolate. Pumpkin Spice No Name Cake is priced at $3.47 to $3.89 for dine-in, takeout, curbside pickup, and delivery sales.

“Cinnamon, nutmeg and other seasonal spices meet the rich flavor of pumpkin, in this quintessential fall flavor that is always highly anticipated by our customers each year,” said Scott Uehlein, MOD vice president of culinary excellence and innovation.