Filipino baked goods and flavors are going viral
24 Mar 2026
“There’s never been a more exciting time for Filipino baking”, Taste.com headlined. From adobo brownies to traditional tapioca desserts and ube flavored everything, baked goods and flavors from the Philippines are gaining global traction. When New York bakery Kora was still a donut pop-up, it built a 10,000-person waitlist of customers eager to try its innovative pastries.
Why Filipino baking is gaining global popularity
According to our online trend monitoring, interest in Filipino flavors and concepts in bakery and patisserie is up by 16% compared to last year. Beyond the Philippines, searches and mentions are rising across the US, Canada, the UK, India and Australia.
This growth is largely driven by a new generation of bakers and patissiers, often of Filipino descent, who are celebrating their culinary heritage through traditional flavors, classic ingredients and rich storytelling. By sharing the history behind dishes and flavors, they are turning products into cultural experiences. As a result, Filipino baking is moving from niche to mainstream.
Other trends that contribute to the popularity of baked goods from the Philippines include local authenticity, with a strong focus on foods connected to communities and traditions. This trend has consumers seeking products that celebrate local ingredients and cuisines, and is projected to grow with 29% this year. The fusion flavor trend is another big driver, with 63% of consumers now saying they want to try new combinations of tastes which are unusual at first.
Ube craze
The ingredient most closely associated with Filipino cuisine is ube, the deep purple yam native to the Philippines. Its striking color and subtle sweetness make it highly appealing in a social media-driven food landscape. Unsurprisingly, online mentions of ube have grown by 38%, with applications ranging from cruffins and donuts to drinks, desserts and pies.
Signature creations continue to amplify this visibility. The much-hyped ube choux at London-based restaurant Donia, filled with ube ice cream, ube praliné and coconut chantilly, became widely shared in 2023 and 2024. These kinds of visually distinctive, layered desserts help propel Filipino flavors into the global spotlight.
Emerging Filipino ingredients and flavors
While ube may be the entry point, Filipino cuisine offers a much broader palette that is now inspiring bakers and patissiers worldwide. Increasingly, professionals are exploring other exciting ingredients that add both novelty and authenticity. Think of:
Pandan - often described as the Asian vanilla, with a sweet, floral profile used in desserts like buko pandan.
Coconut - perhaps the most indispensable flavor in Filipino cuisine, used in all its forms – from milk to grated – in sweet and savory dishes.
Calamansi - the Philippines is the only major producer of this citrus fruit that combines notes of lime, mandarin and kumquat.
Banana - available in about 12 varieties in the Philippines, making it a versatile ingredient.
Rambutan - a lychee-like tropical fruit with a delicate sweet and flavor taste.
Cassava - valued for its texture in desserts such as cassava cake. Has a mild, slightly nutty flavor.
Red bean paste - most commonly associated with Japan or China, but red bean paste is a popular flavor for desserts and treats in the Philippines as well.
Tapioca - the chewy texture of sago pearls is a popular addition in desserts and snacks, while tapioca flour gives baked goods a typical chewy bite.
Together, these ingredients expand the creative possibilities for bakery and patisserie, offering new textures, flavors and visual appeal.
How Filipino bakers reinvent tradition through pastry hybrids
What further defines this trend is not just the use of ingredients, but the transformation of formats. Filipino and diaspora bakers are redefining their culinary heritage through hybrid creations that blend Southeast Asian flavors with European techniques. They translate traditional Filipino dishes into familiar formats such as croissants, danishes and cookies. This approach makes the cuisine more accessible, while preserving its identity.
Meet some of the frontrunners in the FIlipino bakery hype, creating pastries that feel both nostalgic and innovative:
Kora
Kora in New York began as a Filipino-inspired donut pop-up and quickly built a 10,000-person waitlist before opening a permanent location. Its success lies in bold reinterpretations of Filipino flavors, such as salted duck egg and salted coconut donuts. The latter features coconut jam, salted coconut diplomat cream and deeply toasted coconut, echoing the rich, caramelized notes of latik – a Filipino dessert garnish from stewed down coconut milk.
Today, Kora has expanded beyond donuts, offering pastries like calamansi basil danishes and flaky creations filled with pomelo, coconut cream and tapioca pearls, further showcasing the versatility of Filipino flavors.
Del Sur
The ambition of Del Sur in Chicago was to bring the flavors of the Philippines and the heart of the Midwest together in one space. Their treats refer to classic Filipino dishes. The turon danish is based on a dessert of crispy fried sliced banana in a spring roll wrapper. Longanisa – a typical breakfast sausage that is often eaten with fried rice and egg – is reinterpreted in a croissant with toasted rice, soy caramel, salted yolk and the sausage. They even have a swalty adobo brownie with bay leaf infused brownie batter, soy sauce caramel, lime zest and black pepper.
San & Wolves Bakeshop
The fully plant-based bakery San & Wolves in Long Beach (US) focusses on nostalgia. They create veganized versions of beloved sweet, but not too sweet Filipino baked goods or develop new pastries based on beloved traditional dishes. On their menu are treats like bitsu-bitsu, skewers with fried mochi donuts, or ensaymada, a buttery brioche bun topped with buttercream and vegan cheddar cheese. Occasional specials include the traditional dessert soup ginataang bilo-bilo, with sweet potato, jackfruit, banana, coconut milk, tapioca and mochi rice balls.
Panaderya Salvaje
Panaderya Salvaje in Jersey City (US) combines classic French patisserie with Filipino formats, but their most captivating creations are the trendy savory danishes and laminated pastries. They take traditional dishes from the Philippines and reinvent them as snacks wrapped in flaky laminated dough. They had a beef kaldereta pain suisse, a folded pastry filled with a stew of tough parts of beef in tomato sauce with peanut butter and cheddar cheese. And another special is the Kare-Kare croissant, which they describe as ‘delightfully chaotic’ with an ingredient list of beef, coconut milk, turmeric, fish sauce, peanut butter, shrimp paste and muscovado sugar. It’s certain that they aren’t afraid to experiment.
Laminated pastry hybrids are going viral again
The bakery hybrid is back. TikTok timelines are once again flooded with innovative crossovers between beloved foods. That comes as no surprise, as 7 in 10 global consumers say they prefer a familiar element when trying new types of food. This time around, laminated pastry takes center stage.
