VIRALITY. Everyone and everything needs to go VIRAL. Because if it doesn’t go viral, is it even worth existing?

This quest for internet fame has done a number on many things. But let’s talk about the most tragic victim: Cake. That’s right, the sweet, innocent cake. It’s no longer enough to simply bake a cake that looks beautiful and tastes like heaven. No, now it’s about the likes, the shares, and the engagement—because engagement is the new currency. Forget gold, forget Bitcoin—exposure bucks are the future.

Some cake trends of course deserve to go viral. Eg: the Burn-away cake was a fantastic cake trend that was possibly the best thing to have come out of the dumpster fire of a year that was 2024. Others though...need to never have happened.

Here's a list of how Social Media Ruined Cake:

1) C-Section Gender Reveal Cakes

Someone somewhere thought really long and hard about how to make a cringey cake even cringier. Gender reveal cakes are already on my cringe-list (yes, we make them, but doesn't mean I have to love them). Literally nobody cares about the gender of anyone's baby. Well, maybe the parents-to-be do (and even then, a bit weird...).

Look, I get it - gender reveal parties are an easy way to get friends and family together. And get togethers need cake (otherwise it's just a meeting). And hey, gender reveal burn-away cake!

susans.cl1 / nuhquedelicia / TikTok

But let's draw the line at these weird c-section cakes, where you cut into a pregnant buttercream belly on the cake to pull out an umbilical cord or reveal pink/blue buttercream. You know when to stop? When every corner of the internet hates it. And this is the time. Expecting mums are probably already anxious about the birth. There really isn't any need to remind them of major abdominal surgery, further spiking their cortisol.

This is almost as bad as the horrid "birthing cakes", complete with episiotomy stitches and faeces. Luckily that trend was before TikTok so never went as viral. Which also makes me wonder, where are the circumcision and vasectomy cakes? Oh what? Nowhere to be seen? Hmm....

2) Cake-Sitting

If you're thinking Cake-Sitting means you entrusting someone to look after your cake whilst you nip to the loo, that's not it. It's, horrifyingly, quite literal. People sitting on whole, fully decorated cakes and sharing the video, desperate for social media clout. And it's not just limited to Instagrammers and TikTokers - here's a cult on OnlyFans too who get off on buttercream on bums.

Now, if there is a higher resale value of the cake after it's been sat on by xyz cringe-fluencer then I'm all for the hustle. But it's usually just destined as food waste which is more than tragic.

3) Wine Glass Serving

This trend is one of those irritating trends that simply won't DIE. It keeps coming back and I don't know why. 

TikTok @theroseperiod

The only circumstance I think this might be an option to divvy up cake is if there's a mass knife phobia (aka aichmophobia fyi). Otherwise, it is entirely impractical and unsuitable. For one, the glass is completely smeared with buttercream, jam and ganache inside AND outside. That's going to go on everyone's clothes - food colouring and chocolate are absolute nightmares to wash out.

Speaking of washing, which poor sod is cleaning up all the glasses? Have you TRIED to get frosting, ganache and buttercream off a wine glass? It's a nightmare. "Oh but just stick it in the dishwasher!" Again, said by someone who's probably never done a dishwasher load in their lives and who possibly created this stupid trend. You can barely fit a couple wine glasses in there, so it's going to have to be a hand wash job. How very considerate. Not.

4) Cake Smashing

No, not that cake smashing (which is a dumb trend too involving one year olds). This is a new type of cake smashing involving grown adults. Aka Crush Cake, or Smash or Pass Cake or Hear Me Out cake. Again, TikTok is largely to blame.

5) Influencer Freebies

By far, THE WORST social media side effect on cakes. And any small business in food, hospitality and creative industries. Influencers place an inexplicably high value on their exposure bucks. And I've had my views known very publicly, getting into hot water via the BBC, Daily Mail, HuffPost et all. Baking a sculpted cake replica of nobody-influencer's boyfriend's birthday in two days time to feed 120 guests in exchange of Insta posts and stories is NEVER going to pay my bills. Or anyone else's. Yet this happens time and time again. Hence, here's my handy flowchart (forgive the formatting errors - I was rage-flow-charting).

So there you have it, folks. Social media is ruining cake, and I’m here for the cake, but I’m not here for the nonsense. 

Love,
Reshmi xoxo