Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Is It Cake?’ On Netflix, Where Bakers Try To Fool Celebrity Judges With Hyperrealistic Cakes

Netflix’s baking shows range from the beloved (The Great British Baking Show) and the bonkers (Nailed It!) to addictive (Sugar Rush) and awe-inspiring (Zumbo’s Just Desserts). Is It Cake?, now streaming on the platform, combines artistry with a sense of humor, pitting contestants up against one another to create incredible, hyperrealistic cakes in the hopes of fooling the judges. From creating cakes that imitate things like fast food and breakfast sandwiches to designer shoes and handbags, these contestants have their work cut out for them. 

IS IT CAKE?: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Host Mikey Day (Saturday Night Live) points out a bowling ball and a bowling ball cake, basically indistinguishable from one another.

The Gist: Most baking shows asks bakers to create beautiful cakes that look like, well, cakes. Is It Cake?, however, is more interested in making cakes look like other things. Nine amazing cake artists are brought in to create hyperrealistic cakes in the hopes of fooling the judges each round. Each episode, the winning baker can take home up to $10,000, and in the end, the 3 best bakers will compete for $50,000. Day kicks things off by having the bakers play a game of “Find the Cake,” and the 3 bakers who correctly identify the cake-masquerading-as-object get to bake in the first round. In the first episode, the bakers replicate different fast foods, including a cheeseburger, breakfast sandwich, and tacos. They have eight hours to complete their creations, and by the time the judges roll in, they place their cakes among an array of decoy food items and cross their fingers they won’t be found out. 

In this first installment, judges Daym Drops, Fortune Feimster, and Ronnie Woo all try their best to pick out the cakes. The bakers do their best to trick the judges by using realistic-looking textures and colors, and distracting them by dressing up the decoys a little extra, too. After they figure out which items are the cakes, the judges taste each of the creations and offer their opinions about the flavors of the cakes. By the end of the episode, the winning baker – with $5,000 in their pocket – gets the chance to win another $5,000 by picking out the cake between two eerily similar bags of cash. This is only the beginning for these cake artists, who will go up against other individuals in the group in the episodes that follow for a chance to take home some serious cash. 

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Is It Cake? will bring to mind other delightful baking series on Netflix like Nailed It!, Sugar Rush, and Zumbo’s Just Desserts.

Our Take: It’s hard to make an impression in a genre as crowded as baking competitions, but Is It Cake? exceeds expectations and sets itself apart with a silly premise and a charming cast. The cakes-masquerading-as-everyday-things genre took over TikTok and Twitter (and pretty much every other social media platform) early on in the pandemic, so it makes sense that it’s taken the next step and moved onto our television screens. The idea was basically begging to be turned into a reality show, and Is It Cake? delivers on the insanity of the whole thing (and then some). With the help of zany host Mikey Day and an endearing cast of cake artists, the series quickly establishes itself as an addictive, delectable viewing experience. Thanks to the cast’s sense of humor, the playful premise, and a good rapport between contestants and host, Is It Cake? avoids falling into too many familiar baking show patterns and finds its own voice. This isn’t to say that it won’t check the boxes of genre fans – it’s definitely not reinventing the wheel – but it does feel a little more light-hearted and silly than most of its category companions.

There’s something so fun about watching the judges scratch their heads and gasp when they discover what the actual cake is. It’s also totally mesmerizing to see the steps the contestants take to disguise their cakes, removing some of the mystery from all those (occasionally upsetting) viral videos we’ve seen of a seemingly normal object that is suddenly cut into. (After seeing enough of those videos, I genuinely began to question whether everything was a cake!). Is It Cake? leans into that phenomenon to great effect, and it’s not afraid to poke fun at itself. I can’t think of a more mouth-watering idea.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: The bakers laugh as Day pulls a gag on them before the next round.

Sleeper Star: I was a little skeptical of Day as host when things first kicked off, but he really embraces the corniness of it all, shamelessly playing up hammy jokes and leaning into goofy running gags about fondant and other baking-related humor. He’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but his whole thing works in the world of Is It Cake?, a ridiculous series with a ridiculous premise (that needs a host equally as ridiculous).

Most Pilot-y Line: No particularly pilot-y lines here, though Day’s jokes are occasionally a bit corny. I will admit I chuckled when he wielded a blade to cut through the cakes and declared that “they gave an idiot a machete!”

Our Call: STREAM IT. With a fresh premise and a delightful cast, Is It Cake? quickly charms and earns its place among some of Netflix’s most entertaining baking shows.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.