Food that's Bad for You, Disguised as...Food that's Bad for You
January 2, 2009 Some of you will think these are Sunday-worthy, but I find the concept of cake-as-greasy-meat-products just a wee bit wrecky. (And yes, that does make me a hypocrite: I confess I've made a pizza cake before.)
Here we have a nicely rendered cake-that-looks-like-a-corndog, wishing itself (or perhaps another corndog not pictured) a happy birthday. Um, my brain hurts just a little, Nicole E.
(Check out the source for some nifty giant cakes-that-look-like-donuts.)
A lot of you have submitted various versions of the burger n' fries model:
Most of these are pretty well-done [smirk], but Sara B. points out that the greasy shine and red icing "ketchup" are, shall we say, less than appetizing.
Plus, Thomas M. shows us that there can be such a thing as too much realism:
Those are REAL sesame seeds on the icing bun there. Here's hoping they didn't get carried away and salt the "fries", too.
Of course, on the other end of the spectrum is Emily B.'s find:
On the plus side, no one will mistake this for an actual burger. On the negative side, no one will mistake it for a cake, either.
Nancy was kind enough to share her "yellow cake chocolate pizza CCC" find:
Crafting a triangle-shaped slice of pizza from round-shaped cupcakes? Yeah, that's a good call. And why is the "crust" made from poo swirls?
Here Mrs. L. found the lazy version: it's a little sparse on toppings.
Of course, given that the "meatballs" are just mounds of solid icing, I guess we should be grateful there aren't more toppings. The crust looks better on this one, too.
Continuing in the Italian vein, spaghetti cakes are also pretty popular, and often disturbingly realistic. There's a great CCC example over on Flickr, but since I like to stick to pro creations (as opposed to procreations) here on Wrecks, I borrowed Melissa's of Wild Cakes to show you:
Ingenious food impersonation? Or nefarious sugary impostor? You decide!
(Melissa, you let me know if you've changed your mind about that whole "use anything you want from my site" thing, k? And thanks for being such a good sport.)
Speaking of grease and sugar, there's always the ultimate in wrecky flavor combos: the Pork n' Tomato Stuffed Chocolate Iced Donut from Bompass & Parr. If you're starting a diet for the new year, I highly recommend you check that out. Your waistline will thank me.
Reader Comments (92)
Somehow, the corndog cake reminds me of the Norman Rockwell self-portrait
http://fs1.us.cyworld.com/data3/2008/02/06/152/1202307552677961_file.jpg
Because I'm mean, I think I'll make one of these hamburger cakes for my vegetarian daughter's birthday.
assuming that it was requested, the last one begs the question, is the customer really always right?
These actually make me feel sick! There is no way i could eat them.
Oh my god... the spaghetti cake!
Jen, you dig up some pretty putrid stuff, but this takes it all to a new level. Congratulations.
Alixandra Hice
http://casahice.blogspot.com
A couple of the meaty burger cakes leave me wondering "where's the beef". After the last one though, perhaps a meaty layer would be an overkill.
WV - wanatir. Reading Cakewrecks makes me wanatir up. Pass the kleenex.
i actually had a hamburger cake for my son's first bday and it was, dare i say, cute! the bakery even went a step further and made a pickle smash cake!
a spoon full of sugar helps the corn dog go doooowwwnnn. in the most delightful way.
Oh gross. Those remind me of the Jones sodas that are turkey and stuffing flavored. Blech!
Angie (from over at www.HalfAssedKitchen.com)
This is like that time that my mom bought me chocolate pudding made by Hunt's and all I could think of was "ketchup". Ew.
I am so very very sorry I clicked the pork and tomato link this early in the morning. I may have to delay breakfast so my stomach can flip back over.....blech.
I have mixed feelings on cakes that look like food items, when the food actually looks like an appetizing version of the food it's impersonating I mean. Otherwise...yuck...
But you know that sense of disorientation you feel when you pick up a glass and take a drink expecting sweet tea, but get diet coke instead? Even if you like diet coke, it tastes disgusting because you were expecting sweet tea...so does something similar happen here? You take a bite, expecting cheeseburger, because you see cheeseburger, but get chocolate cake with buttercream instead...Even if it's the best cake in the world, wouldn't it take gross because it obviously isn't cheeseburger?
Am I thinking about this too hard? okay...back to avoiding doing any actual work...
~Bonnie B~
When I was a kid my mom made a hamburger cake for one of my birthdays. It was truly a work of art - think a Big Mac, made of cake and icing. It was beautiful. Truly, truly beautiful. I think it was three layers of round cakes under about a half ton of icing. It must have taken hours...
Unfortunately, all the frostings were different flavors, so it tasted wretched.
Amy @ http://prettybabies.blogspot.com
I am thinking the second triangular "pizza" slice may actually be a slice of cherry pie?! Either way it is no good!
I am inclined to think the second "pizza" is actually a pie. Which begs the question - why not just make a pie? It would surely be tastier than that frosting glop.
That corndog cake just looks disgusting.
I think my biggest issue with all of them (well, at least the well-made ones) is the incredible sugar/icing overload. Erghhh.
On a plus side, Melissa's WonderPets cake (on her site) brightened my day. That was incredibly well-made.
One word. If it is a word:
EWWWWWWWW!!!
Amy B
I guess that would be one way to really make yourself go on a diet... those were um, less than appetizing.
The third burger looks like the burger in the Double Dare obstacle course. I wonder if there is a neon orange flag hidden inside and what kind of prize you get if it is in your slice.
I have to admit that I would have never even thought to order a cake that look like food.
I like how the corndog cake has to tell you what it is....just in case you were wondering...
I think the first two burger cakes look pretty cool, actually. The corn dog, not so much.
The second slice of pizza isn't missing anything. It's obviously Chicago-style! Not that it makes that amount of icing any more acceptable.
Those meatballs make me sick to my stomach...
Note to self: read cake wrecks every day as part of diet plan.
I think these are my favorite yet.
I am truly amazed at how real some of them look and it can just picture the faces of people that recieve them.
Too funny!
I totally bought a burger cake once. it was for a fourth of july cookout and it was a work of art that was also ridiculously delicious. the burger cake went over very well!
Dear god..
I can understand the burger cakes.. I can even understand the corndog(which that was a pretty nice looking one I might add) but.. pizza and spaghetti? No. Those should stay as they are, not be made into sugary items! Granted, none of these foods should be thought to be sweet with delicious buttercream icing.. but those last two just made my stomach churn. Urgh..
Congrats on making me feel ill before noon.. and I was going to eat pizza today for lunch. Now I'm not so sure I'll be able too.. *eyes oven suspiciously*
Do I see correctly that the hamburger with sesame seeds is banana flavored? Good God.
I think they look awesome, well, with the exception of the pizza slice with the lines of "cheese."
i think i've lost my appetite for ALL food...
(but never a good cake)
ewwww that one pizza one..ewww. The spaghetti one was so realistic! Really well done, but I'd have a hard time eating a spaghetti cake, I think. That second burger cake was really good too..the fries look so real!
We wanna see your pizza cake!
These are the first cakes I've ever seen that actually make my stomach queasy. Must be the combo of grease and sugar that I imagine.
Ok, in my part of the world for the most part, these are custom order cakes, but it appears that these cakes are in a bakery somewhere. That, in itself, blows me away! Love this blog- keep up the good work. :)
Melissa @ gabesgurlep.blogspot.com
Oh my God! So TOTALLY disgusting!
(hurls into nearest bucket) :<
OMG, I think I have to make either the spaghetti or the pizza cake for my husband's birthday. He will LOVE it.
I remember getting a hamburger cake for my 9th? birthday, as a kid I was wild over it.
Thank you for today's cakes. Looking at them will make it easier for me to get back to my more controlled post-holiday eating.
(Says she whose birthday is in January and who is looking forward to some gooshy icing.)
These cakes literally make me want to dry heave. It's about as bad as watching the Diet Dr. Pepper commercial when people are drinking cupcakes and other non-drinkable foods. ::shudders::
The spaghetti, though beautifully executed, was really scary! ICK.
Pizza/Pie cakes...really ICK.
I did like the giant donut cake link...at least it is a bakery item. It must be tough to come up with new things to turn cakes into. There are some places you just shouldn't go...
Hysterical though.
aaaaargh...OK, I am Italian. Every time I see a pizza or spaghetti cake, especially if it's done well, all I can imagine is this...
Me: Yum! Sketti!
*digs in*
*takes bite*
BLORGH! Ptui!
all that icing. omg.
The burger cake!!! I remember wanting a hamburger cake so badly as a kid... I thought it was hilarious! Now... ugh. No way. And the addition of fries to it... Now, maybe if they had some cake and frosting cole slaw...
the spaghetti ccc on the flickr link looks like a star of david. maybe his birthday fell on a jewish holiday? oh and strawberry preserves for the meatballs? doesn't look right. ew.
i'm pretty much fine with cakes looking like non-sweet foods. as long as the cake is tasty and the look is properly executed.
Burger cake #3 looks like somebody frosted the sides of a large round of cheddar cheese. (Shhh. Let's not give someone ideas.)
Great, now I really want a corndog.
Those look like the real thing!!! I agree that I couldn't eat a cake that looked like a corn dog or hamburger, though... If it's supposed to be sweet, it needs to look sweet... I love your blog!
I love these types of cakes. I remember the episode of Ace of Cakes where they made a hamburger and french fries in a picnic basket cake for someone's birthday. They're fun.
Food cakes make me think of meat cake - the ones made of meatloaf with mashed potato frosting. I'm not sure what's worse - cake that looks like food but tastes like cake, or food that looks like cake but tastes like food.
what you have failed to mention is the third burger cake submitted by me (emily b) is VEGAN. that was the whole point.
What is the corndog's stick made out of, I wonder. It almost looks like the stem of an old corn cob pipe. Maybe the rest of the pipe is inside the corndog cake. Hey, that's not any grosser than the giant, sweet corndog concept, really.
What in blazes is up with that bright green stuff on the second cake? Is that supposed to be lettuce? Oh-radioactive lettuce, you say?
At least the kiddies will have fun after eating some of that; they'll get a big kick out of pooping in technicolor for a few days.
I HAD to go over to "Wild Cakes" to see how she did the spaghetti cake.....I feel a lot better now knowing the "meatballs" are those Ferraro Rocher chocolates. It actually looks quite delicious now.
But the pizza and hamburger ones........no.