What’s old is new again, as they say. We’re used to talking about the cyclical nature of fashion trends, but what about baking trends? Lately, the old-fashioned intricacy of Victorian piping is overtaking those minimalistic cakes that we’ve seen for the past few years. But it isn’t Queen Victoria’s icing, if you know what we mean.

While the monarch did inspire much of what we know as a quintessential wedding cake with the ornate, tiered cake served at her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840, modern iterations of Victorian piping bring the style to life in a whole new way. And for Madelyn Schmidt, owner of Eloise Market and Cakery, that’s all part of the fun. Putting a new spin on such a traditional trend opens the door for boundless creativity for both Schmidt and her clients.

“People do cherries and disco balls, which are really fun,” Schmidt says. “People sometimes put cow print on the base of it and pipe with hot pink and that’s really cute, just trying to tie in those modern trends that everyone’s into.”

But the most modern way that Schmidt brings Victorian piping into her bakery is through her heart-shaped cakes. Rather than a traditional round, the hearts are some of Schmidt’s most popular items, and the ones that are most often adorned with rows and rows of intricate piping. “A lot of people get a heart-shaped cake with all this extravagant piping on it and it makes it look really elegant, but still young and fresh,” she explains.

As for the explanation behind the renewed interest in the icing trend, Schmidt says it’s because of the increasing over-the-top nature of parties of all kinds–from birthdays to weddings to even graduation parties. Just like Queen Victoria herself, hosts are looking for ways to create memorable–and even history-making–moments for their guests through confections.

“I think people are just really trying to elevate their parties,” she explains. “I think this style of cake is the perfect way to do so because all the extra piping makes it feel like so much more.”

For more from Eloise Market and Cakery, check out this story from the inRegister archives.