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Woman Stuns People On The Internet With Her Realistic And Cartoony Cakes (38 Photos)
Does anyone still remember “the cake is a lie” meme from a decade ago? It was a catchphrase popularized in the game Portal, simply meaning that one’s promised reward is merely a fictitious motivator.
Well, there’s now a trend in the vein of the cake being a lie, but not in the sense that it doesn’t exist but rather “this doesn’t look anything like a cake, it’s actually a [insert random item here] but let me just cut it open and, oh my god, it’s a cake,” leading many to think that anything can be a cake at this point.
Meet Natalie Sideserf, a baker from Austin, Texas, who makes hyper-realistic and cartoony cakes that don’t look like cakes until she slices them open on her YouTube channel. Her videos not only show the process of making each cake, but are oddly satisfying to watch.
Bored Panda made a list of some of the best cakes that Natalie has made over the years that you can check out below, along with our exclusive interview with her. And while you’re there, why not upvote and comment on the ones you liked the most!
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#2
Foxxy (The Original) 5 years ago (edited)
I didn’t read the title properly and thought it said she could make cake out of anything. Like ingredients and thought she was gonna put onion in her cake. Geez, I need to get to sleep. Too bad hubby is snoring like a freight train.
kate h 5 years ago (edited)
Same except snoring dogs instead of husband ;)
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Josiah Macchi 5 years ago
it is 2038. cakes are now so hyper realistic you don't know what is cake and what is not. you reach for the last carrot in your fridge. it is cake. you run to your wife for comfort. you hug her. she is cake. with a shaking hand, you grab a knife and cut into your arm. you are cake. you scream but only sound like cake falling apart.
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 5 years ago
That is so mind-boggling. She's even replicated the textures of the onion skin, and the colours are spot-on. If you click on her name on the photograph, it directs you to her youtube channel where you can see how she creates her cakes. It's really fascinating, and I like how she doesn't rely on nasty fondant.
Natalie Sideserf of the Sideserf Cake Studio is a fine arts major who one day tried sculpting a cake for her friend—you know, one of the fancy ones you see on TV. One thing led to another and now she does this for a living.
“In 2008, a friend of mine suggested that I try making a sculpted cake like the ones she had seen on TV. So I tried making a cow skull cake and found the materials to be really interesting and wanted to learn more,” said Natalie.
“In 2011, my husband Dave and I moved to Austin, TX where I started working at a bakery. In 2012, I entered a cake in the shape of Willie Nelson into a cake competition. At the time, I tried looking up reference photos of bust cakes, but couldn't find any, so I was going for something that looked hyper realistic because it had never been done before. My brother posted photos of the cake to Reddit where it reached #1 on the front page. So at that point, I knew I was onto something.”
#4
Mama Panda 5 years ago
I wonder if this could be like a voodoo doll. Would he get a headache where you cut a slice?
Chris DiFonso 5 years ago
Was it Hannibal Lecter who cut the cake? (reference to a scene in the movie, "Hannibal")
#5
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 5 years ago
Wow, those are some incredible sculpting skills there. I'm not a fan of fondant cakes, but this is really well done.
Andreea Alexe 5 years ago
his face looks like the face Joey from Friends makes when acting lol
Heather Reynolds Atwood 5 years ago
Good thing this wasn't a red-velvet cake! That would have been a bloody mess...
#6
Perfumista Perfumista 5 years ago
I imagine some kid seeing this and chopping up every head of romaine looking for cake
Rainbow frog 5 years ago
My sister saw the headline and the picture and said "That is not actually a cake" I showed her the bottom pic and she was amazed.
Natalie’s channel currently clocks in at 38.7 thousand subscribers and the channel overall has received a million views since its launch in the end of 2017. During that time, Natalie has released many videos detailing how she made cakes in the shape of virtually anything: pigs, brains, aliens, fruit and vegetables, and even full-blown busts of the likes of Michael Scott, Wolverine, Freddy Kreuger, and many others.
“My cakes are a mix of customer orders and personal challenges. Sometimes I want to try out a new material or technique, so I do my best to come up with designs that let me experiment,” said Natalie. “When I put new videos up on YouTube, I am sometimes trying new things that I may have never done before so it's very rewarding when the effort pays off. I feel like trying new things and stepping outside of my comfort zone is the best way for me to get better.”
#7
Trine Daely 5 years ago
Now it just needs some corn syrup blood and it would be perfect for Halloween. Oh, you could get one of your ex done for divorce parties!
#8
Tomasz Jackowski 5 years ago
the cognitive dissonance this would bring if you just bit into it expecting pickle taste, I can't even imagine
Perfumista Perfumista 5 years ago
I've heard of pickled watermelon rind buttercream, so maybe there is a little pickle flavor in there.
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Kimberley Thomas 5 years ago
This would be a good way to hide junk food or even just cake from the kiddos. "Mom, can I have some cake?" "Sure, just have a pickle, broccoli, spinach or carrot first." "Eww, no thank you." "No cake for you then. I tried."
#9
Lauren Elise 5 years ago
I don't want to be that person...but it's Azzy lol. Sorry just didn't want it to sound like a pron start or something lol
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Natalie’s cakes may look amazing, but they’re no cake walk as they do come with their own challenges, as she explained: “Some complex designs require a structure to hold the cake up, especially when it comes to "gravity-defying" cakes. So, getting a stable structure is super important and sometimes the biggest challenge.”
She continued: “As far as sculpting, my bust cakes are definitely the most difficult. Getting the proportions right and color matching different tones takes a lot of time, usually around 40 hours from start to finish. That's not to say the cake sits out for 40 hours while I sculpt; I always sculpt the faces ahead of time and add the cake at the very end to make sure everything is fresh and delicious.”
#10
Mama Panda 5 years ago
I am torn on this one. I love, love, love cake but I am allergic to bell peppers lol
DarkKinder 5 years ago
Deadly allergy to bell peppers, but THIS isn't one of those Death Pods... this looks like a Yum Pod!
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#11
#12
ƒιѕн 5 years ago
Imagine grabbing a banana off the counter and trying to peel it to find out its just cake.
TUBLOVER3 5 years ago
Remember the Banana Man on Captain Kangaroo? I love these - super job !!
Chip_Boy 5 years ago
I remember the banana man. He pulled endless strings of bananas from his pockets while singing nonsense weeehooo lalalalal ooooooo wowwww huhuhu ........... I'm70, and I'll never forget how much silly fun that was to watch!
Load More Replies... Demongrrrrl 5 years ago
So when your kids won't eat the banana that has brown spots, you can can give a big sigh and say, "that's OK, I'll eat it."
James Naron 5 years ago
Am I the only one here who thinks the cake banana looks more like a real banana than the real banana?
Now, before you ask what she does with the cakes once they’re cut open because eating every single one of them would probably be overkill for anyone, Bored Panda has you covered. Natalie often shares the cakes with her friends and neighbors:
“Smaller cakes like the fruits and vegetables, we usually keep and eat ourselves but sometimes we will give them to friends or neighbors. The other cakes that you don't see get cut on YouTube or social media are the customer orders, though we try to get pictures of the cut cakes from them as often as we can.”
#13
Eva the Ravenclaw Bookworm📚💖 5 years ago
Forget the actual thing! Sitting on a piece of cake would be worse
#14
#15
Osgood_7 5 years ago
In Germany there's actually a dessert called Spaghettieis (Spaghetti ice cream), which is vanilla ice cream pushed through a spaghetti press, topped with strawberry jam and coconut shavings
Kady Maree Mcgrath 5 years ago
Green in the middle again Eww but awesome detail
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Lastly, we asked Natalie if she has a favorite among the many cakes that she has already done. She had this to say:
“I think my #1 favorite cake was a bust cake of Jonathan Banks, the actor who plays Mike Ehrmantraut on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. I made him sort of beat-up looking, which gave it some extra character, and it was featured on an AMC commercial spot for a season premiere of The Walking Dead. The coolest part, though, was Jonathan Banks brought it up on Conan and personally thanked me for making it while on the show. That's my favorite cake.”
You can check out more sweet goodness on Natalie's YouTube channel as well as her Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. What are your thoughts on this? Have any ideas on what shape or theme of cake you’d love to see made? Let us know in the comment section below!
#16
Tomasz Jackowski 5 years ago
in this case I would probably be disappointed that it turned out to be cake :D
Kimberley Thomas 5 years ago
It looks as if it's already disappointed in itself.
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Tor Rolf Strøm 5 years ago
What is that supposed to look like? something that clogged the sewers?
#18
Regina Phalange 5 years ago
i was gonna say its just a regular cake but then i realize it was lego XD
Eva the Ravenclaw Bookworm📚💖 5 years ago
But also not lego! HA this is so confusing
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#19
#20
Eva the Ravenclaw Bookworm📚💖 5 years ago
That looks revolting and delicious all at the same time...
#21
Janet L Burnett 5 years ago
Probably fondant. You can color it, and shape it into anything.
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#22
Marlene Ricker 5 years ago
That is a very unappetizing looking cake. Finally, a cake I coiuld say no to!
#23
#24
Chip_Boy 5 years ago
It really is about time for a *new* Campbells Soup flavor
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#25
#26
#28
Trine Daely 5 years ago
I knew there was something strange about Gary. NOW WE KNOW HIS SECRET!
Nathan Neustaedter 5 years ago
planktonnnn!!! it's part of your secret plan to get the crabby patty formula isn't it!!!!!
#29
Fact Perils 5 years ago
it's Totoro, a character from a Japanese cartoon (that has no dialogue) super cute movie.
Load More Replies... Billie Atkins 5 years ago
Oh my gosh, this is so amazing, I absolutely LOVE 'My Neighbor Totoro'!
#30
Brooke Purvis 5 years ago (edited)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
CatM 5 years ago
Oh god could you imagine eating a cake that looked just like your dog!!!!! You 😱😱😱😱
Summer Godwin 3 years ago
show that to my pit bull your not going to have a good day until you fix him my dog says HOOOOWWDAAAARREYOOOOUUUUUUUUUU
#31
MammaG 5 years ago
Because a new version came out. Plus, it's a great game.
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#32
Daisy 5 years ago (edited)
*happy ARMY noises* The cake was made with a lot of Suga. I J-Hope a lot of people will get these puns :)
#33
#34
Regina Phalange 5 years ago
ive seen a tp one somewhere else but this is more realistic, running out ;P
Rainbow frog 5 years ago
Imagine if you actually thought it was toilet paper and used it in the bathroom. #WasteOfCake
#35
#36
#37
Fact Perils 5 years ago
so did the apple/peach one (not sure what fruit, i thought it was a peach but someone commented apple)
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#38
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What do you think ?
Foxxy (The Original) 5 years ago
Omg, wow. These were absolutely incredible. Looked so real and too good to eat. Wish fondant was made to taste better though.
Magdalena Wiśniewska 5 years ago
OMG! I'm not going to comment on amount of sugar :p but, this is trully pure Art!
Ari_The_Wanna_Be_Hedgehog 🦔 2 years ago
IT WAS LIKE THAT ONE TV SHOW ON NETFLIX CALLED IS IT CAKE!!!
Lisa Villa 5 years ago
Amazing! The cognitive dissonance some of these cause is disturbing but the talent is phenomenal!
Foxxy (The Original) 5 years ago
Omg, wow. These were absolutely incredible. Looked so real and too good to eat. Wish fondant was made to taste better though.
Magdalena Wiśniewska 5 years ago
OMG! I'm not going to comment on amount of sugar :p but, this is trully pure Art!
Ari_The_Wanna_Be_Hedgehog 🦔 2 years ago
IT WAS LIKE THAT ONE TV SHOW ON NETFLIX CALLED IS IT CAKE!!!
Lisa Villa 5 years ago
Amazing! The cognitive dissonance some of these cause is disturbing but the talent is phenomenal!
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