Burning cake captivates the internet (Photo credit: Instagram/cakesbynams)
Unique and beautiful cakes never cease to fascinate us. From his make-of ASMR videos to his 'Is It A Cake' challenge, our social media feeds are filled with a wide variety of amazing cake reels. One of his recent viral trends is burnout cakes. For the uninitiated, these refer to cakes where the top layer (usually a specially printed image) is set on fire and melts to reveal another design underneath. That's amazing. We're all familiar with the idea of setting food on fire for theatrical effect. But for many of us, a full-sized cake on fire is a novelty.
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Burning cakes are trending now
Several bakers and cake artists are sharing their 'fiery' creations online and winning hearts. People are in awe of these delicately crafted sweet treats and the effort that goes into their preparation. One of his most popular videos is of a Pokemon-themed cake by Ontario-based baker Namayanavaratnarajah (@cakesbynams). The first layer features a Charmander character, which when burned reveals Charmeleon and then Charizard. Instagram Reels has received over 50 million views and 1.8 million likes to date. It quickly spread on other social media platforms as well. See below.
Curious how people reacted? Read some of the comments below.
“So it's all about cake, and cake is now fireworks. The future is wild.”
“Look, I'm a chef. This would have been magic in the 1800s. I have to know this!!”
“I'm going to ask if this can be my wedding cake.”
“The best cake I've ever seen in my life. I really want to eat it.”
Another cake that's making waves on the internet is this Taylor Swift-inspired cake by Illinois-based cake artist Dennis Steward. Around New Year's Eve, she posted a video showing a cake with a top layer counting down to the end of 2023. This was burnt down and “In My 2024 Era” was released. Please check by clicking here.
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Several other themed burnout cakes have gone viral and garnered a lot of praise online. There are some people who are not satisfied with the taste and presentation, but there are also many who roll their eyes when they see it. Tutorials on how to make cakes to bake at home have also appeared. Curious how it's made? If you think this is magical, and you want to stay enchanted by it for years to come, you might want to stop reading now. However, if you are interested in deciphering its composition, keep reading.
How is a non-flammable cake made?
The simplest form of burnaway cake is two layers. The Pokemon creation we saw above is taken a step further by making use of three things. The two layers are made of different types of paper, and the bottom layer (pictures will be published later) is a frosting sheet. Print the desired image on this sheet and place it on top of the regular cake. Pipe a thick border of icing around the edges/around before adding the next layer. This creates a gap between the two sheets, which also serves as a support for the next sheet.
The layer that is baked off is rice paper or wafer paper. This is also printed with your chosen design and placed delicately on top of the cake. Edible ink is used to print the photos on both sheets. The top wafer sheet is usually made of potato starch and oil. It's thin so it catches fire easily. The bottom sheet is thicker and made of sugar, which is similarly insensitive to heat.
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