Scrolling through endless Instagram reels and YouTube shorts, I usually bypass most videos after the first few seconds. However, when I see the familiar soft frosting look of food that looks fake, I stop my speedy thumb from flipping to the next screen just so I can watch the satisfying action of a knife cutting seamlessly through a seemingly ordinary fruit, fast food item, or even a handbag to reveal a fluffy cake interior. 

Now, I know what you’re thinking: is it really that hard to tell the difference between a real object and a professionally styled cake to look like a real item?

After watching the show, Is it Cake? on Netflix, I would like to argue that it is in fact not an easy task to pick the odd one out when put on the spot. In the show, several self-proclaimed cake baking specialists compete to create the best-looking cake imposter among a similar category of items that are real. 

If the bakers—or artists, as one might argue—can successfully fool the judges into thinking that their well-designed cake is just a regular item and not the cake among the objects, then they automatically get a $5,000 cash prize plus the opportunity to win $5,000 more, but on one condition: they can successfully identify a cake item between two options themselves. 

You’d think that this would be simple for a person who practically designs cakes and looks at all the intricate details for a living, but even the best bakers sometimes get tripped up and overlook the elements that could make or break their cash prize. 

Being a person who enjoys these satisfying cake show events, I really enjoyed playing along with the judges and trying to guess which item actually possesses a cake interior. The fun part was that for each round, there was a different category. Some examples of categories include fast food items (burgers, sandwiches, tacos, etc.), fashion items (bucket hats, purses, clutch bags, etc), and beach items (buckets and shovels, beach towels, a coconut drink, etc). 

However, I do have one hefty complaint. The host, Mikey Day, incredibly annoyed me. I can only judge this based on the episodes of this show, so I don’t know if he acts like he does to fit in with the vibe of the show or if this is his real personality, but either way, I am not a fan. He thinks he is way funnier than he actually is, which makes for multiple failed jokes and awkward silence spreading throughout the competition room. It seems that I am not the only one thinking Day is less than funny. 

His efforts to make himself seem charming and likable just had me rolling my eyes every time he went on to put a punny spin on a moment. 

Overall though, for any baking show fans, foodies, and anyone looking for cake design inspiration, this show is a stellar way to get started with the baking of those sorts. I’m excited to see if another season will result from this satisfying feat that cake brought into the world.