In 2011, Australia’s Black Star Pastry introduced its now-famous Strawberry Watermelon Cake. At that time, the cake was only selling around 30 portions per day. However, the decadent layered cake was soon discovered by Instagram and took off.
Today, Black Star Pastry sells over one million slices of its famous cake per year at stores. Its fame has continued to grow. The New York Times even declared it “the world’s most Instagrammed cake” last year.
Originally developed for a wedding, the Strawberry Watermelon Cake is layered with almond dacquoise, rose-scented cream, and watermelon, and topped with strawberries, pistachios, and dried rose petals. Made to represent the flavors of romance, it has a combination of aromas and fresh ingredients that evoke a range of emotions.
That makes the cake ideal for Valentine’s Day. Black Star Pastry has launched a heart-shaped version available in stores from February 13-15 for a cost of $36 per cake.
Black Star Pastry has become known for its innovative offerings. In 2017, the bakery developed glow-in-the-dark pastries known as glownuts. It took the team a year to figure out how to get icing to glow beneath a blacklight. An ingredient made from Vitamin B helped to make the icing glow, and a yuzu (a sour citrus fruit) glaze was added as well.