There's been a shift lately in adding whimsical elements to your everyday
Each summer, a handful of foods and drinks quietly cross the threshold from novelty into cultural shorthand — and this season, three have made that crossing together. Dot cakes, tequila spritzes, and Japanese milk bread have emerged not merely as trends but as reflections of a broader appetite for things that are lighter, more playful, and visually alive. Driven by the accelerating currents of social media, they reveal how quickly collective taste can shift when a single image or video finds the right moment.
- A New York bakery's sprinkle-covered fairy cakes went viral in May, triggering an 80% surge in UK searches for hundreds and thousands within a single month.
- TikTok is moving faster than supply chains — one dot cake recipe video has 2.5 million views, and home bakers are racing to replicate what bakeries are already charging a premium for.
- Aperol Spritz's long reign over the summer drinks table is being challenged as tequila sheds its shot-glass reputation, with M&S reporting a 50% sales spike and bartenders crediting a shift to 100% agave quality.
- Japanese milk bread has been quietly climbing search rankings for five years, but a 2,000% year-on-year jump in Waitrose searches signals it has finally broken into the mainstream.
- Across all three trends, the common thread is a desire for food and drink that feels both effortless and worth sharing — simple pleasures elevated just enough to photograph.
Three foods are defining this summer, and they all share one quality: they look good on a phone screen. Dot cakes — essentially fairy cakes topped with buttercream and sprinkles — went viral in May when a New York bakery began selling flat-topped, single-serve versions. Within weeks, UK bakeries had their own, home bakers were attempting them, and a single TikTok recipe had accumulated 2.5 million views. Ocado saw searches for hundreds and thousands rise 80% in a single month.
Chloe Rose Steen, a 23-year-old from Cheshire, made her own after scrolling past three dot cake videos in one sitting. Her TikTok reached 20,000 views; her Instagram post hit 10,000. She sees them as part of a wider shift toward whimsy in everyday food — sprinkles on matcha, yoghurt bowls, desserts made cheerful. Their appeal, she notes, is that they're simple and cheap to make at home, even if bakeries charge considerably more.
The tequila spritz tells a different kind of story — one about a spirit finally being taken seriously. Aperol Spritz has owned the summer drink market for years, with Hugo Spritz arriving as a floral challenger. Now tequila is entering the conversation. M&S reports a 50% sales increase, and bartender Joseph Costello in Bath attributes it to a quality shift: most tequila sold in the UK is now 100% agave, and the difference is clear. His recipe — Aperol, tequila, prosecco, and grapefruit soda — positions the drink as a cleaner, more complex cousin of the Paloma.
Japanese milk bread has been building quietly for five years, but its moment has arrived. Waitrose has seen searches for milk buns rise 2,000% year-on-year, and TikTok is full of recipe videos, including one by Bake Off alumnus Edd Kimber with nearly 400,000 likes. The bread's draw is its texture — soft, pillowy, and faintly sweet, made using a cooked flour-and-liquid starter. Jo, a Manchester mother of three who runs This Mum Cooks on Instagram, posted about a loaf she'd bought on discount and reached 41,000 views. She uses it for barbecue buns and picnic sandwiches, always untoasted to protect its delicate crumb.
None of these trends are entirely new inventions. But all three have found their season — lighter, more playful, and just interesting enough to share.
Three foods are having a moment this summer, and they all share something in common: they look good on a phone screen. Dot cakes—which are, at their heart, simple fairy cakes crowned with buttercream and hundreds and thousands—went viral out of New York in May when a bakery called The Dotcakes started selling them as flat-topped, single-serve creations. The internet noticed. Within weeks, versions appeared in UK bakeries, including one in Manchester, and home bakers began attempting their own. A single TikTok recipe video has been watched 2.5 million times as of June.
The numbers tell the story of how quickly these things move now. Ocado, the online grocer, saw searches for hundreds and thousands jump 80 percent from April to May alone. Chloe Rose Steen, a 23-year-old from Cheshire, decided to make them after scrolling past three separate dot cake videos in one session. She suspected they'd be everywhere within days. She was right—her own TikTok of the process reached 20,000 views, and her Instagram post hit 10,000. "There's been a shift lately in adding whimsical elements to your everyday," she observed, "with things like sprinkles on matcha, yoghurt bowls and desserts." The appeal, she noted, is partly that they're simple, fun, and cheap to make at home. Whether they're worth the premium prices charged in bakeries is another question entirely.
If dot cakes are the visual spectacle, tequila spritzes represent a shift in how people think about a spirit that was once relegated to shots. For years, Aperol Spritz owned the summer drink market. Then Hugo Spritz, an elderflower-based fizz, arrived and settled in. Now tequila is making its play. M&S has positioned the tequila spritz as a cousin to the Paloma, a grapefruit cocktail, and reports that tequila sales are up 50 percent. At Ocado, searches for Hugo are up 452 percent year-on-year, but the tequila spritz is the new conversation.
Joseph Costello, a 25-year-old bartender at Dos Dedos in Bath, attributes the shift to changing attitudes toward tequila itself. "In the past," he says, "most tequila in the UK market wasn't 100 percent agave." Now it is, and the quality difference is noticeable. He recommends the drink to anyone who loves tequila but wants something longer, or who enjoys a Paloma but prefers something cleaner with wine notes. His recipe: 15ml of Aperol, 45ml of tequila, 50ml of prosecco, topped with grapefruit soda to taste.
The third trend is Japanese milk bread, a slightly sweet loaf that has been climbing in search volume for five years but is only now breaking into mainstream consciousness. Google searches have risen steadily. TikTok is full of recipe videos, including one by Great British Bake Off alumnus Edd Kimber that has nearly 400,000 likes. In May, The Times noted its growing presence in London's high-end restaurant scene. Waitrose has seen searches for milk buns—a related product with similar enriched texture—jump 2,000 percent year-on-year, which the retailer links to rising interest in Asian-inspired food.
The bread's appeal lies in its texture. Made with milk and using a cooked tangzhong or yudane starter of flour and liquid, it emerges soft and pillowy. Jo, who runs the Instagram account This Mum Cooks and lives in Manchester with three children, recently tried a discounted loaf and posted about it. The video reached 41,000 views. "I really like milk bread," she said. "It's lovely and soft and has a sweetness to it. It's really versatile." She uses it for barbecue buns, picnic sandwiches, and lazy summer meals. She prefers it untoasted to preserve its delicate crumb. She's bought it again since, though she hasn't yet perfected her homemade version. "I must keep trying," she said.
What connects these three trends is not just their appearance on social media, but the way they reflect what people actually want to eat and drink right now: things that are lighter, more visually interesting, and tied to a sense of play. The dot cake is a fairy cake dressed up. The tequila spritz is a spirit elevated. The milk bread is a loaf made soft. None of them are entirely new. But all three have found their moment, and for now, that moment is summer.
Notable Quotes
There's been a shift lately in adding whimsical elements to your everyday, with things like sprinkles on matcha, yoghurt bowls and desserts.— Chloe Rose Steen, dot cake baker
In the UK market now, most of the tequila you're seeing is 100% agave. In the past it wasn't.— Joseph Costello, bartender
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why do you think these three things—cakes, drinks, bread—all took off at the same time?
They didn't, really. The milk bread has been climbing for five years. But they're all converging now because social media rewards visual appeal and shareability. A dot cake photographs beautifully. A tequila spritz looks elegant. Milk bread has that soft, almost sculptural quality.
Is there something about summer specifically that makes people want these things?
Summer wants lightness. Lighter drinks, softer breads, things that feel a bit indulgent but not heavy. The tequila spritz is citrusy and refreshing. The milk bread is feathery. Even the dot cake—it's a small, manageable portion.
But aren't dot cakes just fairy cakes with sprinkles? Isn't that a bit silly?
Yes, and that's exactly the point. Chloe Rose Steen said it herself: "At their core, yes, they're simple cakes. But that's part of the appeal." There's something liberating about taking something ordinary and making it whimsical. It's not pretentious. It's playful.
The tequila numbers are striking—50 percent sales increase. Is that because tequila is actually better now, or because people's attitudes changed?
Both. Joseph Costello was clear: most tequila sold in the UK now is 100 percent agave, where it wasn't before. The quality genuinely improved. But people also stopped thinking of it as just a shot. They started treating it like a proper spirit, the way they do gin or whiskey.
And the milk bread—2,000 percent search increase at Waitrose seems almost unreal.
It's real, but it's also a measure of how niche it was before. You're going from almost nothing to something. It reflects a genuine shift toward Asian-inspired food, but also the fact that supermarkets are now stocking things they didn't stock five years ago.
Do you think any of these will last beyond summer?
The milk bread probably will. It's genuinely useful and delicious. The tequila spritz might stick around if people decide they prefer it to Aperol Spritz. The dot cakes? They'll fade. They're fun, but they're not essential. They're the kind of thing that's perfect for social media and then quietly disappears.