I create new cake flavors rather often, and a lot of people ask me where I get ideas for new flavors from.
It's rather fun, actually. Seeking out inspiration for new flavors, that is. One of my favorite go-to methods is drawing inspiration from foods that are not cake. Take herbal tea, for example (my favorite source of inspiration). Herbal teas combine so many different flavors that you wouldn't typically think of pairing together. One quick glance at Teavana's web site, and I'm already excited by the combinations I'm seeing: fig + rose, lavender + citrus, orange + chocolate, orange + rose... The possibilities truly are endless. And while you're browsing Teavana's site, take a look at their non-herbal teas. I know. Inspiration overload.
It doesn't have to end with cakes, either. Love oatmeal raisin cookies? Why not an oatmeal raisin cake? Or maybe your Sunday breakfast of blueberry pancakes with syrup will inspire you to create a blueberry maple cake. And how about a hazelnut raspberry cake inspired by all the hazelnut and raspberry foods you saw when you went to France? Once you start to see exciting flavor combinations, you'll really start developing an eye for catching them anywhere and everywhere.
One other source I might mention: scented candles. You know the ones. Cinnamon coconut, coconut and vanilla bean, Thanksgiving dinner (a.k.a. pumpkin and apple)... If they smell good together, they probably taste good together. (Fun fact: taste = flavor + smell.)
And that's enough to get your creative juices going for the time being, methinks.
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